Alchemical Hands in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

Marginalia, Scholarship & Reception

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The Great Pyramid

ARCHITECTURAL b2v · p.16
The Great Pyramid
From the 1499 Aldine first edition (University of Seville copy, via Internet Archive)

Full-page woodcut of a massive stepped pyramid topped by a tall obelisk surmounted by a figure. Colonnaded portico at the base. Inscription KITOMARNO visible.

In the Narrative

The centerpiece of Poliphilo's first architectural encounter. This impossible pyramid exceeds the Egyptian originals in Colonna's description — its dimensions are meticulously specified and internally consistent, demonstrating the author's architectural learning.

Source: LLM_ASSISTED · HIGH