Prof. Matteo Martelli (University of Bologna) will discuss ancient techniques designed to change the colour of metals, thus reasoning on the development of Graeco-Egyptian chrysopoeia (the making of gold) and argyropoeia (the making of silver).
Various dyeing procedures described in the works by Pseudo-Democritus (1st century CE) and Zosimus of Panopolis (3rd-4th century CE) will be presented and commented on from a both theoretical and experimental perspective.
Modern replications of these technologies will be used to better understand the practices described in the above-mentioned texts as well as the empirical underpinnings of their theories and classifications.
Prof. Martelli is Principal Investigator of the ERC Project AlchemEast: Alchemy in the Making: From ancient Babylonia via Graeco-Roman Egypt into the Byzantine, Syriac and Arabic traditions (1500 BCE -1000 AD).
The lecture will be held online via Zoom. Registration is required. To register, visit the eventbrite page here or email alchemiesofscent@flu.cas.cz.
You will receive a Zoom link in your registration confirmation email.
Details
Speaker: Matteo Martelli, Professor in the History of Science, University of Bologna
Title: Dyeing and Transmuting Metals in Graeco-Roman Egypt
Date: Monday, 25 April 2022
Time: 14:30 – 16:00 CEDT (UTC+2)
Host: Alchemies of Scent, Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences
Location: Remote (Zoom). Register via eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lecture-dyeing-and-transmuting-metals-in-graeco-roman-egypt-registration-321629641917
You will receive a Zoom link in your confirmation email.