Adam as Prima Materia , Pierced by the Arrow of Mercurius Europe: 1200 - 1399 A.D. An illustration from an alchemical manuscript, designated as Adam as Prima Materia, portrays the figure of Adam, the first man created in Old Testament accounts, reclining on the ground, his right chest pierced by an arrow, with a small tree growing up from his loins. The hand (Of God?) points toward him from Heaven; a crescent moon enclosing a human face, observes the scene from above. Inked drawing Florence, Italy: Biblioteca-Medicea-Laurenziana





















