THE OIL OF ANTIMONY

In Basil Valentine's book The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony the Master describes several antimony preparations.

Among these preparations it in evidence the Stone of Fire and the Oil of Antimony. The great difficulty founded to obtain this oil it is the preparation of its glass. This preparation of the antimony glass is made by the dry way and it is very slow.

To prepare the antimony glass the first operation to execute it is the Purge to remove through the fire in gas oven the silica that usually pollutes the mineral. There is a little difficult to get a pure mineral with little silica and that chosen pure mineral is usually expensive.

This operation is the same that is done in the beginning of the antimony dry way and for that, it requests a specific knowledge of the modus operandi. We didn't recommend it to who doesn't have the suitable experience.

After the Purge we are obtained an almost pure mineral exempt of silica that is necessary to grind very well in an iron or of bronze mortar and to pass it for the sieve in fine powder.

Consecutively is proceeded at its calcination to expel all chemical sulphur.

This operation is made slowly in a Pyrex glass or of stainless steel porringer, mix well with a stainless steel spoon to avoid that the mineral forms agglomerates and always stay powdered. After well calcinated and not to emanate more sulphur smell will have a light brown coloured.

In a crucible of medium size pour this antimony calcinated oxide until fill it and the respective lid is placed.

The crucible is placed on a gas oven with a strong fire so that the whole oxide is melted and be completely liquid. Hold the lid to verify if it is completely melted. If it is, with a tongs hold the crucible securely of the oven and the melted content is drained on a metallic foil. After cooling the glass it loosens easiness out the plate.

The colour of the antimony glass is usually brown reddish. Placing a glass piece in front of a source of strong light as the solar light and to the transparency you see a red colour.

This glass is grind in an iron or bronze mortar protecting with an appropriate masks the breathing way of the fine powder that emanates of the grinding. After well grinding it sieved by a fine sieve of nylon of 60 lines for centimetre or 120 for inch.

This fine powder of antimony glass is placed in a 2 litre vase whit a rubber stopped (Erlenmeyer or a matrass with round bottom) or in a circulator and pour spirit of vinegar at 10 degrees Baume. This spirit of vinegar will dissolve at moderate temperature the antimony glass powder.

When the whole vinegar spirit will be red coloured, for decantation, pour the coloured vinegar into another matrass. After to dry the glass powder that was not completely dissolved to a very moderate heat. Pour new vinegar and when this will be completely red coloured, to flow for decantation, as of the first time, the whole coloured vinegar spirit and, so forth, until that the vinegar spirit doesn't extract more tincture.

Pour the whole spirit of coloured vinegar in a glass alembic and to distil the vinegar in excess until obtaining a thick caput as honey or more. To dry it to a moderate temperature and later pour in the alembic spirit of wine very well rectificated to 100 degrees to extract from it the tincture which you will circulate in a pelican or circulator during one month.

After this circulation you will distil everything without addition. And by this distillation Basil Valentine says: «...you will have a sweet medicine, pleasant and admirable, in the form of beautiful clear and red oil with which gets the fire stone.

This oil or fifth essence like this prepared it accomplishes everything that is necessary to do and to know for a good doctor that is expedites in your cures. The dose is of eight grains before your coagulation, taken in pure wine. It makes to rejuvenate and to turn young the men and it turns them free from all the illnesses, turning them vigorous and perhaps as if they had been born again.»

This last description of the distillation doesn't seem us very clear. The Master insinuates us that after having distilled the whole vinegar, it will remain in the cucurbit a thick and sweet oil not referring that it will flow in the distillation by the beak of the alembic

We preparing some kilograms of antimony glass destined to the Filiation and prepare it for its dissolution in the spirit of vinegar but for several reasons will not accomplish to do the distillation with the spirit of wine. For that reason, we don't know if it passes or not for the alembic beak.

By own experience, we can say, with own knowledge, that to prepare the antimony glass it is not an easy task. Because at present we have not the suitable conditions for doing it we didn't repeat this operation again.