Giovanni Agostino Pantheo (fl. ca. 1517-1535)
The ancient industry of metallurgy led to the establishment of laboratories in which alchemy was attempted. Medieval scientists honed their skills as they separated and purified metals. Man’s quest during Medieval times to turn lead and other non-precious metals into gold drove early exploration in the laboratory, when alchemy was born. The practice of alchemy, which employed aspects of distillation, metallurgy, medicine, and transmutation, led to the roots of modern chemistry.
The image shown is a detail of an early 16th century laboratory.
Bequest of Eckley Brinton Coxe
