manuel cohen

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  • Coffered ceiling of right staircase, Chateau d'Azay-le-Rideau, 16th century Renaissance chateau, Loire Valley, Inde-et-Loire, France. This staircase is unusual for the period as it is in Italian ramp rather than spiral form. The ceiling is coffered with rib vaulting and pendant keystones. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC13_FRANCE_MC113.jpg
  • Painted coffered wooden ceiling with corbels carved as animals, in the Diagonal room, on the first floor of the Palau Baro de Quadras, a mansion remodelled 1904-6 in catalan Modernisme style by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, 1867-1956, between the Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Rossello, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. This large room overlooking the Avinguda Diagonal was the family's main living room, with Moorish style arches, floral decorations, a coffered ceiling and stained glass gallery. The house was commissioned by Manuel Quadras i Feliu of the Quadras textile family. The building now houses the Institut Ramon Llull, which promotes catalan language and culture. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_0993.jpg
  • Wooden Renaissance coffered ceiling, carved 1589-91 by Master Martin Infante, in the Salon del Techo de Felipe II, or Philip II Ceiling Room, in the Mudejar Palace, or Palacio del Rey Don Pedro, built by Pedro I of Castile, 1334-1369, in 1364, in the Real Alcazar, a Moorish royal palace in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. The ceiling is made of square coffers carved and painted with geometric designs. The room is accessed from both the Garden of The Prince and the Salon de Embajadores, or Hall of Ambassadors, by way of the Arch of the Peacock (symbol of permanence, immortality and monarchy). The Alcazar was first founded as a fort in 913, then developed as a palace in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries and used by both Muslim and Christian rulers. The Alcazar is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_SPAIN_MC018.jpg
  • Coffered ceiling of the Hall of Lost Steps, seen through a parabolic archway from the Central Hall, at Palau Guell, a catalan Modernist mansion designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, built 1886-88 for Eusebi Guell, on the Carrer Nou de la Rambla, in El Raval, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. This hall features a coffered ceiling and an arcade of triple columns overlooking the street. The building is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_1080.jpg
  • Polychrome wooden coffered ceiling of the Capella de Santa Agueda or Chapel of Santa Agata, a catalan Gothic chapel in the Palau Reial Major, built as residence for the counts of Barcelona and kings of Aragon and now the Muhba Placa del Rei, a history museum covering Roman to medieval periods, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The chapel was built in catalan Gothic style in 1302, with a rectangular nave, polygonal apse and coffered ceiling. The chapel was built by Bertran Riquer, Jaume del Rei and Pere d'Olivera for King James II of Aragon and his wife Blanca of Naples. The palace complex includes the Salo del Tinell built 1359–62, the Palatine Chapel of St Agatha built 1302 and the Palau del Lloctinent built 1549. The museum is part of the Museu de Historia de Barcelona. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_433.jpg
  • Detail of 1 of the 75 octagonal panels from the wooden coffered ceiling, made 1541-43 by Sebastian de Segovia during the reign of Emperor Charles V, in the Salon del Techo de Carlos V, or Charles V Ceiling Room, in the Mudejar Palace, or Palacio del Rey Don Pedro, built by Pedro I of Castile, 1334-1369, in 1364, in the Real Alcazar, a Moorish royal palace in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. The ceiling is made from pine wood with ground colour pigments, and the panels are carved with floral designs and busts. The Alcazar was first founded as a fort in 913, then developed as a palace in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries and used by both Muslim and Christian rulers. The Alcazar is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_SPAIN_MC095.jpg
  • Wooden coffered ceiling with 75 octagonal panels, made 1541-43 by Sebastian de Segovia during the reign of Emperor Charles V, in the Salon del Techo de Carlos V, or Charles V Ceiling Room, in the Mudejar Palace, or Palacio del Rey Don Pedro, built by Pedro I of Castile, 1334-1369, in 1364, in the Real Alcazar, a Moorish royal palace in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. The ceiling is made from pine wood with ground colour pigments, and the panels are carved with floral designs and busts. The Alcazar was first founded as a fort in 913, then developed as a palace in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries and used by both Muslim and Christian rulers. The Alcazar is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_SPAIN_MC093.jpg
  • Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, with stone vaulted coffered ceiling, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1138.JPG
  • Capella de Santa Agueda or Chapel of Santa Agata, and the Retaule del Conestable, altarpiece of the Epiphany, 1465, by Jaume Huguet, 1412-92, commissioned by catalan king Pere IV, in catalan Gothic style, in the Palau Reial Major, built as residence for the counts of Barcelona and kings of Aragon and now the Muhba Placa del Rei, a history museum covering Roman to medieval periods, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The chapel was built in catalan Gothic style in 1302, with a rectangular nave, polygonal apse and polychrome wooden coffered ceiling. The chapel was built by Bertran Riquer, Jaume del Rei and Pere d'Olivera for King James II of Aragon and his wife Blanca of Naples. The palace complex includes the Salo del Tinell built 1359–62, the Palatine Chapel of St Agatha built 1302 and the Palau del Lloctinent built 1549. The museum is part of the Museu de Historia de Barcelona. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_0867.jpg
  • Grand Salon, a 27m long gallery with chandeliers, a coffered ceiling and pendants with coats of arms of the Cities of France who had a high school in 1885, in the Palais Academique at the Sorbonne, the main building of the University of Paris in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. The room is decorated with paintings by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, 1845-1902, of the myth of Prometheus. The room was originally the hall of the Conseil Academique and is now used for official receptions, ceremonies and receiving foreign delegations. The Palais Academique today houses the seat of the chancellery of the universities and the academy of Paris. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC19_PARIS_MC_0687.jpg
  • Double helix staircase seen from the second floor, with the stone coffered vaulted ceiling of the cross room, in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The open staircase is at the centre of the chateau with 2 helices rising over 3 floors without meeting and is lit from above by a 32m high roof lantern. The staircase is rumoured to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1152.jpg
  • Coffered wooden Neo-Mudejar ceiling in the main bedroom, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0607.jpg
  • Galerie des Guise, a large first floor reception room displaying since 2000 the portrait collection of Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orleans, added to by King Louis Philippe, in the Chateau d'Eu, in Eu, Normandy, France. This room was destroyed by fire in 1902, the coffered ceiling was restored in 2001, and the parquet floor and painted panelling from 2010. Also displayed is furniture from the Mobilier National. The chateau was begun in 1581 by Henri de Guise and Catherine de Cleves and finished in 1665 by Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orleans, the Grande Mademoiselle. In the 19th century the chateau was a royal residence of King Louis Philippe. The chateau houses the Musee Louis-Philippe and is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0867.jpg
  • Hall of Lost Steps, leading to the Central Hall and the Visitors’ Hall, at Palau Guell, a catalan Modernist mansion designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, built 1886-88 for Eusebi Guell, on the Carrer Nou de la Rambla, in El Raval, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. This hall features a coffered ceiling and an arcade of triple columns overlooking the street. The building is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_1098.jpg
  • Capella de Santa Agueda or Chapel of Santa Agata, a catalan Gothic chapel in the Palau Reial Major, built as residence for the counts of Barcelona and kings of Aragon and now the Muhba Placa del Rei, a history museum covering Roman to medieval periods, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The chapel was built in catalan Gothic style in 1302, with a rectangular nave, polygonal apse and polychrome wooden coffered ceiling. The chapel was built by Bertran Riquer, Jaume del Rei and Pere d'Olivera for King James II of Aragon and his wife Blanca of Naples. The palace complex includes the Salo del Tinell built 1359–62, the Palatine Chapel of St Agatha built 1302 and the Palau del Lloctinent built 1549. The museum is part of the Museu de Historia de Barcelona. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_448.jpg
  • Blue Room, with wooden coffered ceiling, at the Palazzo Conte Federico, a 12th century Arabic Norman palace in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The Federico counts bought the palace in the mid 17th century and are responsible for commissioning many of the decorations in place today. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_ITALY_MC_593.jpg
  • Chapel Royal, with its wooden coffered ceiling created for the visit of Charles I in 1633, and its 17th-century Flemish tapestries depicting the stories of Benjamin and Joseph, in the South range of Falkland Palace, a royal palace built 1501-41 under kings James IV and James V, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland. The chapel was restored in 1893 by Lord Bute. The palace was in use until damaged by fire in the 17th century, and was bought by the marquis of Bute in 1887. It is now owned by the marquess of Bute and run by the National Trust for Scotland. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC18_SCOTLAND_MC_124.jpg
  • Coffered ceiling with gold painted and sculpted decoration of the Consulate of the Sea, administering maritime and commercial law, decorated by Juan del Poyo, 1418-1455, at La Lonja de la Seda or the Silk Exchange, Valencia, Spain. Built 1482-1533 by Pere Compte, Johan Yvarra, Johan Corbera and Domingo Urtiaga, the Silk Exchange is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCSPAIN14_MC020.jpg
  • Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, with stone vaulted coffered ceiling, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1148.jpg
  • Initial F with knotted cords, for Francois I, on the stone vaulted coffered ceiling of the cross shaped room, on the second floor of the keep in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1158.jpg
  • Coffered wooden Neo-Mudejar ceiling in the main bedroom, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0638.jpg
  • Barrel vaulted coffered stucco ceiling, with many Medicean emblems including the central coat of arms of Giovanni de Medici or Pope Leo X, in the Main Hall, designed by Sangallo in 1485, in the Villa di Poggio a Caiano, a Medici Villa built from 1480 in Renaissance style by Giuliano da Sangallo, 1443-1516, for Lorenzo de Medici, in Poggio a Caiano, Prato, Tuscany, Italy. The hall is painted with frescoes by Pontormo, Allori, Andrea del Sarto and Franciabigio exalting the glory of the Medici dynasty. The villa was begun 1480-95 and completed 1513-20 under Giovanni de Medici by Andrea di Cosimo Feltrini and Franciabigio. The museum now houses 2 museums, the Museo della Natura Morta or Still Life Museum, and the Historic Apartments. It forms part of the Medici UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_ITALY_MC_150.jpg
  • Oak coffered ceiling, detail, in carved wood, wrought iron and gold leaf, in the Visitors' Room, where visitors waited before entering the Central Hall, at Palau Guell, a catalan Modernist mansion designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, built 1886-88 for Eusebi Guell, on the Carrer Nou de la Rambla, in El Raval, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The building is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_1088.jpg
  • Floral painted stucco decoration in the coffered ceiling of the first floor hall, before the Diagonal room, in the Palau Baro de Quadras, a mansion remodelled 1904-6 in catalan Modernisme style by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, 1867-1956, between the Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Rossello, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The house was commissioned by Manuel Quadras i Feliu of the Quadras textile family. The building now houses the Institut Ramon Llull, which promotes catalan language and culture. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_0995.jpg
  • Dove in flames, representing the philosophical soul, and the descent of the terrestrial fire in Christian tradition, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0683.jpg
  • Armillary sphere in flames with a blank scroll, representing the raw material antimony and its extraction by the skill of the alchemist, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0679.JPG
  • Lion's head with a vase, tipping due to the tearing of a string held in the lion's mouth, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. This section represents the successful fixing of sulphur and the warning of not pushing the multiplication of elements too far (the lion still holds the string). The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0668.jpg
  • Nave of the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, built 1481-89 by Pietro Lombardo in Renaissance style, to house a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, Venice, Italy. The nave culminates in an ornamental marble staircase between 2 pulpits leading to the altar, and has a barrel vaulted coffered ceiling with paintings of prophets, by Vincenzo dalle Destre and Lattanzio da Rimini. The city of Venice is an archipelago of 117 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges, in the Venetian Lagoon. The historical centre of Venice is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC16_ITALY_MC_0137.jpg
  • Coffered ceiling from the facade of the Library of Celsus, built 110-135 AD under Consul Julius Celsus Polemaenus, governor of the province of Asia, Ephesus, Izmir, Turkey. Celsus paid for the construction with his own personal wealth, and is buried in a sarcophagus beneath it. The library held nearly 12,000 scrolls in cupboards in niches in the double walls, which protected the documents from temperature and humidity. Ephesus was an ancient Greek city founded in the 10th century BC, and later a major Roman city, on the Ionian coast near present day Selcuk. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC13_Turkey_MC305.jpg
  • Cross shaped room with stone vaulted coffered ceiling with sculpted emblems of Francois I (initial F and salamanders spitting water or swallowing fire), on the second floor of the keep in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1162.jpg
  • Coffered wooden Neo-Mudejar ceiling in the main bedroom, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0639.jpg
  • Coffered wooden ceiling of the dining room, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0687.jpg
  • Oak coffered ceiling, in carved wood, wrought iron and gold leaf, in the Visitors' Room, where visitors waited before entering the Central Hall, at Palau Guell, a catalan Modernist mansion designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, built 1886-88 for Eusebi Guell, on the Carrer Nou de la Rambla, in El Raval, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The building is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_1095.jpg
  • Painted wooden coffered ceiling, created for the visit of Charles I in 1633, in the Chapel Royal, in the South range of Falkland Palace, a royal palace built 1501-41 under kings James IV and James V, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland. The chapel was restored in 1893 by Lord Bute. The palace was in use until damaged by fire in the 17th century, and was bought by the marquis of Bute in 1887. It is now owned by the marquess of Bute and run by the National Trust for Scotland. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC18_SCOTLAND_MC_125.jpg
  • Celestial dew, with a watering can attached to a ring by a rope, releasing drops onto a fire, representing the sacred relationship between water and fire, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. Also there is an allusion to the heavenly cosmic fluid, and the ring symbolises faithfulness, with the droplets signifying the unity of material. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0681.JPG
  • Winged cherub blowing fire from a horn, representing the role of breath or the wind in the alchemy, in contrast to the section depicting fire contained in a cup, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0680.jpg
  • A hand surrounded by flames emerging from a rock wall, holding a branch from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, or possibly feathers representing dry work, and with a scroll wrapped around, thought to represent the culmination of an alchemist's work, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0672.jpg
  • Winged cherub hunting nature, with a garland of plants around his neck and holding a bell associated with a madman, symbolising the alchemist's power over nature, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0673.jpg
  • Coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0651.jpg
  • Detail of the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0650.jpg
  • Nave of the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, built 1481-89 by Pietro Lombardo in Renaissance style, to house a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, Venice, Italy. The nave culminates in an ornamental marble staircase between 2 pulpits leading to the altar, and has a barrel vaulted coffered ceiling with paintings of prophets, by Vincenzo dalle Destre and Lattanzio da Rimini. The city of Venice is an archipelago of 117 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges, in the Venetian Lagoon. The historical centre of Venice is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC16_ITALY_MC_0138.jpg
  • Painted coffered Mudejar ceiling, 16th century, in the Knights Room or Salon de Caballeros in the Madrasa of Granada, a mosque school founded 1349 by the Nasrid King Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada, in El Albayzin, the medieval Moorish old town of Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. This room served as a meeting place for the aldermen of the city after the reconquest. The madrasa functioned as a university until 1499 and is now part of the University of Granada. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Granada was under muslim rule and retains a distinctive Moorish heritage. Granada was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC208.jpg
  • Painted coffered ceiling made under the Catholic kings after the reconquest in Mudejar style in the South side chamber of the Gilded Room or Cuarto Dorado, built under Mohammed V in the 14th century, in the Comares Palace, Alhambra Palace, Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The Alhambra was begun in the 11th century as a castle, and in the 13th and 14th centuries served as the royal palace of the Nasrid sultans. The huge complex contains the Alcazaba, Nasrid palaces, gardens and Generalife. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC134.jpg
  • Coffered concrete dome, Rotunda of the Pantheon, ancient temple in Rome dating from 125 AD, later converted into the church of Santa Maria ad Martyres, Rome, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC313.jpg
  • Coffered concrete dome, Rotunda of the Pantheon, ancient temple in Rome dating from 125 AD, later converted into the church of Santa Maria ad Martyres, Rome, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC110.jpg
  • Cross shaped room with stone vaulted coffered ceiling with sculpted emblems of Francois I (initial F and salamanders spitting water or swallowing fire), on the second floor of the keep in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1160.jpg
  • Floral bosse in the coffered wooden Neo-Mudejar ceiling in the main bedroom, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0640.jpg
  • Blue Room, with wooden coffered ceiling, at the Palazzo Conte Federico, a 12th century Arabic Norman palace in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The Federico counts bought the palace in the mid 17th century and are responsible for commissioning many of the decorations in place today. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_ITALY_MC_608.jpg
  • A flaming arm reaching out to collect chestnuts in their spiky cases, with a blank scroll above, representing the separation and multiplication of materials in the creation of the philosopher's stone, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0670.jpg
  • Winged cherub with a pilgrim's staff, representing the difficult path of alchemy - the staff is a symbol of masculinity and overcoming dangers, protecting the bearer, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The staff can also represent the alembic or alchemical still. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0667.jpg
  • Winged cherub with a hobby horse, hitting it with a whip, representing childhood games and the fact that everything is not what it at first seems - we must look beyond the virtual to reality, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0662.jpg
  • Coffered ceiling of the Galerie Francois I, begun 1528, the first great gallery in France and the origination of the Renaissance style in France, Chateau de Fontainebleau, France. The Palace of Fontainebleau is one of the largest French royal palaces and was begun in the early 16th century for Francois I. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_France_MC651.jpg
  • Royal Oratory, or private chapel of the king, with stone vaulted coffered ceiling, in the Francois I wing of the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1147.jpg
  • Double helix staircase on the second floor, with the stone coffered vaulted ceiling of the cross room, in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The open staircase is at the centre of the chateau with 2 helices rising over 3 floors without meeting and is lit from above by a 32m high roof lantern. The staircase is rumoured to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1161.jpg
  • Galerie des Guise, a large first floor reception room displaying since 2000 the portrait collection of Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orleans, added to by King Louis Philippe, in the Chateau d'Eu, in Eu, Normandy, France. This room was destroyed by fire in 1902, the coffered ceiling was restored in 2001, and the parquet floor and painted panelling from 2010. Also displayed is furniture from the Mobilier National. The chateau was begun in 1581 by Henri de Guise and Catherine de Cleves and finished in 1665 by Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orleans, the Grande Mademoiselle. In the 19th century the chateau was a royal residence of King Louis Philippe. The chateau houses the Musee Louis-Philippe and is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0868.jpg
  • The broken pot, with a cup covered in parchment and attached to a ring by a rope, with a hole in its side releasing 3-pointed volatile crystals, possibly cerusite (a mineral composed of natural carbonate of lead), meant as a warning of the dangers of experimentation, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0676.jpg
  • Winged cherub unwinding a thread on a reel topped with a Greek cross, representing the work of spinners which signifies coagulation, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0663.jpg
  • Ball of fire, possibly a burning stone, in a carved cup, with 3R representing the extraction of igneous sulphur by a triple reiteration and possibly a pomegranate representing fertility (a symbol also found elsewhere in the building), from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0661.JPG
  • Section of stucco ceiling with figure and decorative border, from the imitation coffered ceiling of the Triclinium, a large room probably used for lunches and open to the garden, with walls painted on a white background with figures and plants and ornamental borders and floating figures of the seasons, in the Casa dell Efebo, or House of the Ephebus, Pompeii, Italy. This is a large, sumptuously decorated house probably owned by a rich family, and named after the statue of the Ephebus found here. Pompeii is a Roman town which was destroyed and buried under 4-6 m of volcanic ash in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Buildings and artefacts were preserved in the ash and have been excavated and restored. Pompeii is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC16_ITALY_MC_0229.jpg
  • Painted coffered Mudejar ceiling, 16th century, in the Knights Room or Salon de Caballeros in the Madrasa of Granada, a mosque school founded 1349 by the Nasrid King Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada, in El Albayzin, the medieval Moorish old town of Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. This room served as a meeting place for the aldermen of the city after the reconquest. The madrasa functioned as a university until 1499 and is now part of the University of Granada. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Granada was under muslim rule and retains a distinctive Moorish heritage. Granada was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC207.jpg
  • Detail of the coffered ceiling with gold painted and sculpted decoration of the Consulate of the Sea, administering maritime and commercial law, decorated by Juan del Poyo, 1418-1455, at La Lonja de la Seda or the Silk Exchange, Valencia, Spain. Built 1482-1533 by Pere Compte, Johan Yvarra, Johan Corbera and Domingo Urtiaga, the Silk Exchange is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCSPAIN14_MC021.jpg
  • Coffered wooden door with central metalwork design, detail, leading to the first floor living rooms, in the Palau Baro de Quadras, a mansion remodelled 1904-6 in catalan Modernisme style by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, 1867-1956, between the Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Rossello, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The house was commissioned by Manuel Quadras i Feliu of the Quadras textile family. The building now houses the Institut Ramon Llull, which promotes catalan language and culture. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_0996.jpg
  • Grand Salon, a 27m long gallery with chandeliers, a coffered ceiling and pendants with coats of arms of the Cities of France who had a high school in 1885, in the Palais Academique at the Sorbonne, the main building of the University of Paris in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. The room is decorated with paintings by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, 1845-1902, of the myth of Prometheus. The room was originally the hall of the Conseil Academique and is now used for official receptions, ceremonies and receiving foreign delegations. The Palais Academique today houses the seat of the chancellery of the universities and the academy of Paris. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC19_PARIS_MC_0695.jpg
  • Phoenix pecking at the fruits in a horn of plenty,  with the bird representing fire and the philosopher's stone, also rebirth and returning to oneself, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0674.jpg
  • Letter E burning in a fire, with the 3 branches of the letter representing sulphur, mercury and salt, and a scroll above, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0664.jpg
  • Painted coffered ceiling made under the Catholic kings after the reconquest in Mudejar style in the South side chamber of the Gilded Room or Cuarto Dorado, built under Mohammed V in the 14th century, in the Comares Palace, Alhambra Palace, Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The Alhambra was begun in the 11th century as a castle, and in the 13th and 14th centuries served as the royal palace of the Nasrid sultans. The huge complex contains the Alcazaba, Nasrid palaces, gardens and Generalife. Granada was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC019.jpg
  • Dining room, with coffered wooden ceiling, wood panelling, fireplace and table in window niche, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0608.jpg
  • Coffered wooden Neo-Mudejar ceiling in the main bedroom, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0625.jpg
  • Small sitting room adjoining the dining room, with marble tiled floor, terracotta walls and a coffered wooden ceiling, in the Casa Amatller, a catalan Modernisme and art nouveau style building by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, built 1898-1900 as a home for chocolatier Antoni Amatller, on the Passeig de Gracia in the Illa de la Discordia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_1006.jpg
  • Small sitting room adjoining the dining room, with marble tiled floor, terracotta walls and a coffered wooden ceiling, in the Casa Amatller, a catalan Modernisme and art nouveau style building by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, built 1898-1900 as a home for chocolatier Antoni Amatller, on the Passeig de Gracia in the Illa de la Discordia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_1005.jpg
  • Winged cherub with prayer beads ending in a dove, signifying that prayer should not be forgotten, and that something greater can come out of smaller elements, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0677.jpg
  • Coffered concrete dome, Rotunda of the Pantheon, ancient temple in Rome dating from 125 AD, later converted into the church of Santa Maria ad Martyres, Rome, Italy. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LCITALY12_MC312.jpg
  • Bedroom of the Five Queens, named after Queen Margot, Elisabeth of France, Marie Stuart, Elisabeth of Austria and Louise of Lorraine, with their coats of arms on the coffered ceiling, and 16th century Flemish tapestries, at the Chateau de Chenonceau, built 1514–22 in late Gothic and early Renaissance style, on the River Cher near Chenonceaux, Indre-et-Loire, France. The chateau was extended on a bridge across the river, commissioned by Diane de Poitiers and built 1556-59 by Philibert de l'Orme, with a gallery added 1570–76 by Jean Bullant. The chateau is listed as a historic monument and forms part of the Loire Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1274.jpg
  • Salamander spitting water to extinguish the bad fire, emblem of Francois I, on the stone vaulted coffered ceiling of the cross shaped room, on the second floor of the keep in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1156.jpg
  • Salamander spitting water to extinguish the bad fire, emblem of Francois I, on the stone vaulted coffered ceiling of the cross shaped room, on the second floor of the keep in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1159.jpg
  • Double helix staircase seen from the second floor, with the stone coffered vaulted ceiling of the cross room, in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The open staircase is at the centre of the chateau with 2 helices rising over 3 floors without meeting and is lit from above by a 32m high roof lantern. The staircase is rumoured to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1163.jpg
  • Main bedroom, with east facing balcony and coffered wooden ceiling, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0603.jpg
  • Barrel vaulted coffered stucco ceiling, with many Medicean emblems including the central coat of arms of Giovanni de Medici or Pope Leo X, in the Main Hall, designed by Sangallo in 1485, in the Villa di Poggio a Caiano, a Medici Villa built from 1480 in Renaissance style by Giuliano da Sangallo, 1443-1516, for Lorenzo de Medici, in Poggio a Caiano, Prato, Tuscany, Italy. The hall is painted with frescoes by Pontormo, Allori, Andrea del Sarto and Franciabigio exalting the glory of the Medici dynasty. The villa was begun 1480-95 and completed 1513-20 under Giovanni de Medici by Andrea di Cosimo Feltrini and Franciabigio. The museum now houses 2 museums, the Museo della Natura Morta or Still Life Museum, and the Historic Apartments. It forms part of the Medici UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_ITALY_MC_149.jpg
  • Barrel vaulted coffered stucco ceiling, detail, with many Medicean emblems, in the Main Hall, designed by Sangallo in 1485, in the Villa di Poggio a Caiano, a Medici Villa built from 1480 in Renaissance style by Giuliano da Sangallo, 1443-1516, for Lorenzo de Medici, in Poggio a Caiano, Prato, Tuscany, Italy. The hall is painted with frescoes by Pontormo, Allori, Andrea del Sarto and Franciabigio exalting the glory of the Medici dynasty. The villa was begun 1480-95 and completed 1513-20 under Giovanni de Medici by Andrea di Cosimo Feltrini and Franciabigio. The museum now houses 2 museums, the Museo della Natura Morta or Still Life Museum, and the Historic Apartments. It forms part of the Medici UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_ITALY_MC_127.jpg
  • Hall of Lost Steps, with the Central Hall seen through the doorway, at Palau Guell, a catalan Modernist mansion designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, built 1886-88 for Eusebi Guell, on the Carrer Nou de la Rambla, in El Raval, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. This hall features a coffered ceiling and an arcade of triple columns overlooking the street. The building is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_SPAIN_MC_1147.jpg
  • Blue Room, with wooden coffered ceiling, at the Palazzo Conte Federico, a 12th century Arabic Norman palace in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The Federico counts bought the palace in the mid 17th century and are responsible for commissioning many of the decorations in place today. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC20_ITALY_MC_594.jpg
  • Barrel vaulted coffered ceiling with paintings of prophets, by Vincenzo dalle Destre and Lattanzio da Rimini, over the nave of the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, built 1481-89 by Pietro Lombardo in Renaissance style, to house a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, Venice, Italy. The city of Venice is an archipelago of 117 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges, in the Venetian Lagoon. The historical centre of Venice is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC16_ITALY_MC_0130.JPG
  • Double helix staircase seen from the second floor, with the stone coffered vaulted ceiling of the cross room, in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The open staircase is at the centre of the chateau with 2 helices rising over 3 floors without meeting and is lit from above by a 32m high roof lantern. The staircase is rumoured to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1164.jpg
  • Carved flowers, painted in brown and gold, detail from the coffered wooden ceiling in the dining room, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0647.jpg
  • Winged cherub carrying a cup of fire, with one knee on the ground, representing a controlled and contained fire which feeds the mind, and the calcination of the inner fire with the outer fire, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0678.jpg
  • Winged cherub urinating into a clog, representing the process in alchemy of washing the mercury with urine, one of the first phases of creation of the philosopher's stone, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0675.JPG
  • Shell and scorpion, with the scorpion representing darkness and disgust, eating a scroll which is crossed over, with letter E all around, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. This section is thought to represent mercury (the shell) needing the addition of sulphur or gold, with the wrapped scroll representing the crucible, although the meaning of the letter E is disputed. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0666.jpg
  • Winged cherub sitting on a giant shell and sowing 7 shells from a basket (7 is a symbolic number in alchemy), with the basket and the shell representing the philosophical mercury and the appearance of sulphur, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0665.jpg
  • Double helix staircase seen from the second floor, with the stone coffered vaulted ceiling of the cross room, in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The open staircase is at the centre of the chateau with 2 helices rising over 3 floors without meeting and is lit from above by a 32m high roof lantern. The staircase is rumoured to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1135.JPG
  • Double helix staircase seen from the second floor, with the stone coffered vaulted ceiling of the cross room, in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The open staircase is at the centre of the chateau with 2 helices rising over 3 floors without meeting and is lit from above by a 32m high roof lantern. The staircase is rumoured to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1153.jpg
  • Salamander spitting water to extinguish the bad fire, emblem of Francois I, on the stone vaulted coffered ceiling of the cross shaped room, on the second floor of the keep in the Chateau de Chambord, designed by Domenico da Cortona and built 1519-47 in French Renaissance style under King Francois I, at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France. The largest of the Loire Valley chateaux, Chambord has a central keep with 4 bastion towers on the corners, a moat and an elaborate decorative roofline. The chateau is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC22_FRANCE_MC_1157.jpg
  • Renaissance coffered vaulted ceiling with transverse arch, in the Chapelle Sainte-Croix or Chapel of the Holy Cross, built 1547-49 in the Cathedrale Saint-Mammes or Langres Cathedral, built 1150-96 in Romanesque and Gothic styles, with a Neoclassical facade rebuilt 1761-86 designed by Claude-Louis D'Aviler. It is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_2296.jpg
  • Renaissance coffered vaulted ceiling with transverse arch, in the Chapelle Sainte-Croix or Chapel of the Holy Cross, built 1547-49 in the Cathedrale Saint-Mammes or Langres Cathedral, built 1150-96 in Romanesque and Gothic styles, with a Neoclassical facade rebuilt 1761-86 designed by Claude-Louis D'Aviler. It is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_2291.jpg
  • Barrel vaulted coffered stucco ceiling, with many Medicean emblems including the central emblem of Giovanni de Medici or Pope Leo X, in the Main Hall, designed by Sangallo in 1485, in the Villa di Poggio a Caiano, a Medici Villa built from 1480 in Renaissance style by Giuliano da Sangallo, 1443-1516, for Lorenzo de Medici, in Poggio a Caiano, Prato, Tuscany, Italy. The hall is painted with frescoes by Pontormo, Allori, Andrea del Sarto and Franciabigio exalting the glory of the Medici dynasty. The villa was begun 1480-95 and completed 1513-20 under Giovanni de Medici by Andrea di Cosimo Feltrini and Franciabigio. The museum now houses 2 museums, the Museo della Natura Morta or Still Life Museum, and the Historic Apartments. It forms part of the Medici UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_ITALY_MC_124.jpg
  • Galerie des Guise, a large first floor reception room displaying since 2000 the portrait collection of Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orleans, added to by King Louis Philippe, in the Chateau d'Eu, in Eu, Normandy, France. This room was destroyed by fire in 1902, the coffered ceiling was restored in 2001, and the parquet floor and painted panelling from 2010. Also displayed is furniture from the Mobilier National. The chateau was begun in 1581 by Henri de Guise and Catherine de Cleves and finished in 1665 by Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orleans, the Grande Mademoiselle. In the 19th century the chateau was a royal residence of King Louis Philippe. The chateau houses the Musee Louis-Philippe and is listed as a historic monument. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_FRANCE_MC_0885.jpg
  • The pilgrim praying, a crowned cherub with no wings reads from a book searching for enlightenment, while a snake eats his own tail, killing himself with his own venom, while making the sign of infinity with his curled tail, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0671.jpg
  • Winged cherub praying with his prayer beads, representing pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the link between the Church and esotericism, or between the holy trinity and metals (gold is God, money is the Virgin and mercury is Jesus), from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0669.jpg
  • Polychrome mocarabe work and square columns with carved floral decoration and Arabic script, around a wooden coffered ceiling in the Court of the Lions, built 1362 in the second reign of Muhammad V, in the Nasrid dynasty Palace of the Lions, Alhambra Palace, Granada, Andalusia, Southern Spain. The Alhambra was begun in the 11th century as a castle, and in the 13th and 14th centuries served as the royal palace of the Nasrid sultans. The huge complex contains the Alcazaba, Nasrid palaces, gardens and Generalife. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC14_GRANADA_MC143.jpg
  • Carved flowers, painted in brown and gold, detail from the coffered wooden ceiling in the dining room, in El Capricho de Gaudi, or Villa Quijano, a Modernist villa designed by Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, and built 1883-85 under his assistant Cristobal Cascante, in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The villa was commissioned by Maximo Diaz de Quijano as a summer house. It is from Gaudi's orientalist period, with azulejos tiles and domes. The building has housed a museum since 2009. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC21_SPAIN_MC_0646.jpg
  • Winged cherub with a coquille St-Jacques shell resting on fire, symbol of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, of secrets, of the feminine principle of mercury and of the crucible, so this relief represents the joining of mercury and fire in the processes of alchemy, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen
    LC17_FRANCE_MC_0682.jpg
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