Germany, 1582 copy (text tradition c. 1532–1535)
The Peacock’s Tail
A single peacock stands with its tail fanned inside a crowned flask — alchemy’s most famous omen that the Work is going right.
- Work
- Splendor Solis (Splendour of the Sun)
- Artist / creator
- Unknown illuminator (text attributed to Salomon Trismosin)
- Origin & date
- German, 1582 copy (text tradition attributed to Salomon Trismosin, c. 1532–1535)
- Held by
- British Library (Harley MS 3469, f.28)
Format
The full-resolution color-managed file — yours to print, study, and keep.
Size
Available as a digital download only — this scan’s resolution doesn’t hold up cleanly as a physical print at any size.
$24.00
The story
A single peacock stands with its tail fully fanned inside a crowned glass flask. Alchemists called this stage the cauda pavonis, the peacock’s tail, and treated it as one of the most reassuring signs in the entire process: a shifting, iridescent play of colors was reported to appear in the vessel just before the material settled into stable white, the albedo stage that precedes the work’s final reddening. Because the display was brief and unpredictable, its appearance functioned almost like a weather sign, confirmation that the process was on the right track rather than a failure. The detail worth noticing is the crown atop the flask, marking this stage as a small triumph in its own right rather than an incidental way station. The phrase outlived the manuscript: "peacock’s tail" is still used as shorthand for a burst of transient color before a process settles into its final form.
About this reproduction
- Faithful reproduction of a public-domain work, sourced from British Library (Harley MS 3469, f.28)’s open-access release.
- Printed to order on archival cotton-rag stock, pigment inks rated 100+ years.
- Color-managed to the source scan.
- Available as a Gold-Foil Premium Edition — a metallic accent print evoking the illuminator’s gold, for a piece from one of the tradition’s luminous, gilded manuscripts.
- Ships in 5–8 business days; satisfaction guaranteed.
