Ripley Scroll: The Bird of Hermes

A golden eagle stands on a grey sphere under a sun, the panel the scroll calls the bird of Hermes.

Work: Rotulum hieroglyphicum G. Riplaei Equitis Aurati (Ripley Scroll, Wellcome MS 692)
Artist / creator: Unknown illuminator, after the scroll attributed to George Ripley (c. 1415-1490)
Origin & date: Early 17th century, copied from a copy made in 1588; English verse
Held by: Wellcome Collection, London (MS 692)

Format

The full-resolution color-managed file — yours to print, study, and keep.

Size

Sized to protect print quality — this scan’s resolution supports sizes up to 12x16 cleanly.

$24.00

The story

A golden eagle stands with spread wings on a grey sphere while a sun with a face shines above it and drops of gold rain down around the bird. Higher up, a red lion and a golden lion face each other across a low wall. The Wellcome catalogue quotes the legend that goes with the eagle: "The Birde of hermes is my name: eatings my winges to make me tame." The bird is the volatile spirit, and the line says it must consume its own wings before it will stay still. This section comes from the Wellcome's MS 692, an early seventeenth-century copy of a 1588 copy of the roll attributed to George Ripley.

About this reproduction

Faithful reproduction of a public-domain work, sourced from Wellcome Collection, London (MS 692)’s open-access release.
Printed to order on archival cotton-rag stock, pigment inks rated 100+ years.
Color-managed to the source scan.
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Image courtesy of the Wellcome Collection, London, licensed CC BY 4.0.

In situ