Allegory of Distillation (detail), Claudio de Domenico Celentano di Valle Nove, 1606 Allegory of Distillation
Claudio de Domenico Celentano di Valle Nove (Neapolitan, act. early 17th century)
Watercolor in Claudio de Domenico Celentano di Valle Nove, [Book of Alchemical Formulas] (Naples, 1606), pp. 6–7
950053.3

Although little is known about the author of this curious pastiche of bizarre imagery and straightforward technical illustrations, he was apparently well connected. He dedicates this manuscript to his "longtime dear friend," Gonzalo Pérez, part of a powerful aristocratic family in Spanish-ruled Naples—an indication that interest in alchemy circulated at the highest socio-political circles.