Letter R c. 16th century

Curator: Looking at this Letter R from the Harvard Art Museums, it feels like a glimpse into some alchemical manuscript, teeming with curious creatures. Editor: It's chaotic, isn't it? Almost aggressively ornate. My eye doesn't know where to land first – is it the satyr, the goat, or that strange orb being dangled overhead? Curator: Precisely! It's an anonymous work, so we can only speculate on its purpose, but the imagery suggests a symbolic vocabulary lost to time. A visual puzzle, really. Editor: Perhaps it's about the pursuit of knowledge, or some kind of transformation? That figure holding the orb looks like they're presenting a challenge, dangling insight just out of reach. Curator: Or maybe it's simply a playful experiment in form, where the letter 'R' becomes a framework for a fantastical world. It's that mystery, that invitation to interpretation, which I find so compelling. Editor: I agree. It certainly sticks with you. The longer I look, the more it feels like a portal to another world, hidden within the very fabric of our own alphabet.