Alchemy Reconstruction
Experimentation and Philology
This lecture by Dagmar Wujastyk explores experimentation as a tool for philological and historical research.
Series 3: Creating Artificial Gems
In this series, we recreate formulations from a thirteenth- to fifteenth-century alchemical treatise, the “Jewel Mine of Mercury” (Rasaratnākara). In its Vādakhaṇḍa, chapter 19, this treatise describes the making of gems, including rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. We explore the creation of artificial rubies.
Making "Fish Black" (matsyakajjala)
This film shows the recreation of the recipe for fish black or fish collyrium (matsyakajjala), the main ingredient for creating artificial gems in the Rasaratnākara. Read more: Making Gems, Part One.
Producing Rubies
This film shows the recreation of the recipe for producing artificial rubies in the Rasaratnākara. Read more: Making Gems, Part Two.
Producing Rubies: Tweaking the Recipe
We again recreate the ruby recipe from the Rasaratnākara, this time adding a technique from Graeco-Egyptian recipe literature for corroding and "opening up" stones to improve dye adhesion. Read more: Making Rubies, Part Three.
Series 2: The Rasaprakāśasudhākara
Dagmar Wujastyk introduces the second series, in which we recreate formulations from a sixteenth-century alchemical treatise, the “Nectar Mine Light of Mercury” (Rasaprakāśasudhākara). The treatise focusses on the medicinal application of mercurials, but also contains a chapter on making alchemical gold and silver and artificial pearls and coral.
Making Coral
An abbreviated and simplified recreation of a recipe for making artificial coral in Rasaprakāśasudhākara, chapter 11. Read more: Making Coral (1) and Making Coral (2 & 3).
Making Pearls
The recreation of a recipe for making pearls out of fish eyes. Read more: Making Pearls.
Aurifiction I — Imitating Gold
This experiment focusses on a recipe for making copper look like gold, including our behind-the-scenes discussions about the viability of the recipe and how to adapt it. Read more: Aurifiction: Imitating Gold.
Preliminary procedures applied to the materials:
Aurifiction II — The Rasārṇava
Recreation of a similar recipe for making alchemical gold from the 11th-century "Ocean of Mercury" (Rasārṇava), one of the foundational texts of the Indian alchemical tradition.
Aurifiction III — Chalcopyrite
Recreation of a recipe using chalcopyrite as the main ingredient, not requiring smelting in a furnace. Read more: Gold Imitation with Chalcopyrite.
Revisiting Aurifiction I
We revisit the first aurifiction recipe, adjusting ingredients and proportions. Read more: Aurifiction Revisited.
Argentifaction I — Making Silver
Recreation of a recipe for making silver using copper, brass, bronze, orpiment, and silver. Read more: Argentifaction: Making Silver.
Testing Silver and Gold
Modern and traditional methods for testing silver, using the alchemical silver bars we produced.
Further methods for testing silver and gold, including nitric acid test, magnet test, and scratch test.
Argentifaction II — Second Method
Recreation of a second recipe for making silver, using orpiment ash, human hair, lead, copper, and silver. Read more: Making Silver: Second Method.
Preliminary preparation: making orpiment ash (three methods):
Series 1: The Rasahṛdayatantra
Indian alchemy — Rasashastra — is the craft of making elixirs from mercury. From the tenth century, Indian alchemists started composing treatises about their work. The earliest of these treatises was the ‘Heart of Mercury’ (Rasahṛdayatantra). It describes eighteen procedures for making mercurial elixirs. We reconstructed these procedures.
Introductory Interview
Dagmar Wujastyk and Andrew Mason speak about their collaboration on recreating alchemical procedures described in this tenth-century treatise.
Step 1 — Steaming (svedana)
The first procedure: steaming (svedana) of mercury to remove contaminants. The text states: "The steaming of mercury is carried out with a sixteenth each of mustard, salt, the three pungent substances, leadwort, fresh ginger and radish together with sour gruel for three days over a mild fire." (Rasahṛdayatantra, chapter 2, verse 3)
Step 2 — Trituration (mardana)
The second procedure: trituration (mardana) of mercury with several other substances to remove contaminants. The text states: "Trituration with sour gruel is carried out for three days with molasses, burnt wool, and salt, together with soot, brickdust, and mustard, each in the amount of a sixteenth part to the mercury." (Rasahṛdayatantra, chapter 2, verse 4)
Preliminary preparation: Calcining wool — production of burnt wool, an ingredient in the trituration procedure.
Step 3 — Thickening (mūrchā)
The third procedure: thickening (mūrchā) to remove toxic elements from mercury. The text states: "The three inherent faults of mercury are called 'dirt', 'fire', and 'poison'. Through dirt, it produces fainting, through fire, a burning sensation, through poison, death. Aloe removes dirt, the three myrobalans remove fire, and leadwort removes poison. Therefore, one should thicken it seven times with a mixture of these." (Rasahṛdayatantra, chapter 2, verses 5–6)
Step 4 — Raising (utthāpana)
The fourth procedure: 'raising' or sublimation (utthāpana) of mercury to activate it after the thickening process. The text states: "The mercury, which has become completely cleansed and freed from lead and tin through trituration with this, is brought to a rise from a sour gruel decoction in a condensation apparatus." (Rasahṛdayatantra, chapter 2, verse 7)
Preliminary preparation: Making egg tempera to seal the apparatus. Since clay is a porous material, it needs to be sealed before use in procedures. We used egg tempera following instructions from later alchemical texts.
Step 5 — Letting Fall (pātana)
The fifth procedure: "letting fall" or sublimation (pātana) to fully remove toxic lead and tin from mercury. The text states: "Having prepared a copper paste, a condensation procedure is conducted because of suspicion of remaining lead and tin. And, thus freed of its faults, the cleansed mercury condensates." (Rasahṛdayatantra, chapter 2, verse 8)
Preliminary preparation 1: Preparing copper powder — based on The Siddha Formulary of India.
Preliminary preparation 2: Purifying copper powder
Preliminary preparation 3: Purifying copper sheet
Step 6 — Reviving (nirodhā)
The sixth procedure: 'reviving' (nirodhā) of mercury to reinvigorate it after the cleansing procedures. The term nirodhā normally means 'restraint', but here is understood as a synonym for bodhana, 'awakening'. The text states: "It is rendered useless through trituration, thickening and condensation because of its weak potency. Once it has become replenished through revivification with sṛṣṭyambuja (water and salt?), it will no longer be impotent." (Rasahṛdayatantra, chapter 2, verse 9)