The word was borrowed in Greek as στιμμι or στιβι. In ancient Egypt the name for this cosmetic powder was "sdm" (variant "msdm.t") which is derived from the Coptic CTHM. Further, the name Surma is used in some Slavic and Altaic languages.Īntimony sulphide (Sb 2S 3) in the form of powder was used in the Orient as a cosmetic to darken and beautify their eyebrows. This became the official symbol, despite the fact that Stibium or its derivations are rarely used in the different languages. However, in his essay on the chemical signs (note), Jakob Berzelius used for Antimony the symbol Sb (also St), being an abbreviation of Stibium.
For alchemists, of course, that symbolized the quintessence of matter.Īt present, the most common name for the element is Antimonium. They were fascinated by a property of Antimony to form a crystalline star (the Star Regulus) under certain conditions. For many alchemists, especially Isaac Newton, the metal Antimony became a more potent form of Mercury with which to work transformation. The word "triumphal" refers not to the conquering of anything but rather to an ancient pagan procession in which people dressed up in costumes depicting the archetypal forces in nature were carried through the streets in a chariot. The frontispiece shows Mercury, Antimony, and other archetypal powers parading through the countryside in a chariot while an angel looks on from above. Valentine's book was edited and published by Johann Thölde in Nürnberg in 1676 (note)Īnd contains treatises by several famous alchemists, including the Benedictine alchemist Basil Valentine, who wrote the featured selection. This is regarded as the first monograph devoted to the chemistry of a single metal. In 1604 Basilius Valentinus (1565-1624) wrote a monograph on Antimony, Triumph-Wagen des Antimonij (Triumphal Chariot of Antimony).
#Element symbol for antimony how to
Georgius Agricola (1494-1555) described how to smelt and used antimony metal. Somewhat accurate description of Antimony was available for the first time in alchemical literature of the renaissance period. Initially Antimony was confused with lead. In antiquity, Antimony was merely used for making cosmetics such as rouge and black paint for eye brows. Antimony, in the form of its sulphide ( stibnite, Sb 2S 3), has been known from very early times, more especially in Eastern countries, reference to it being made in the Old Testament.
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