| Gemelli Careri's Lacquer Porcelain Bowl | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri |
|
Type |
Porcelain Bowl |
|
Effects |
Actualizes renderings of cultural center and landmarks of foreign nations |
|
Downsides |
Intense seasickness |
|
Activation |
Pouring mercury inside |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 11 |
|
Section |
|
|
Date of Collection |
July 29, 1796 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri (1651–1725) was an Italian adventurer and traveler. He was among the first Europeans to tour the world by securing passage on ships involved in the carrying trade; his travels, undertaken for pleasure rather than profit, took him through the Middle East, India, China and the New World within a span of five years. Some suspected him of spying for the Vatican (or rather for the Jesuits) on his journey. This fortuitous misunderstanding opened for Gemelli many of the most tightly closed doors of the country. He visited the emperor at Beijing, attended the Lantern Festival celebrations and toured the Great Wall. The reliability of his travel accounts were once doubted, but are now considered to be authentic due to the details observed in his writings.
From Macau, Gemelli Careri sailed to the Philippines, where he stayed two months while waiting for the departure of a Manila galleon, for which he carried quicksilver, for a 300% profit in Mexico. In the meantime, as Gemelli described it in his journal, the half-year-long transoceanic trip to Acapulco was a nightmare plagued with bad food, epidemic outbursts, and the occasional storm.
In Mexico, he became friends with the Mexican creole patriot and savant Don Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora, who took the Italian traveler to the great ruins of Teotihuacan. Sigüenza spoke with Gemelli about his theories of the ancient Mexicans and entrusted him with information about the Mexican calendar, which had appeared in Gemelli's account. As well as having visited the pyramids at Teotihuacan, he also visited several mining towns. After leaving Mexico city he visited the city of Puebla de Los Angeles and several towns as he traveled to the port city of Veracruz, where he joined a Spanish fleet headed toward Cuba. Gemelli finally returned to Europe after five years of travel when he joined the Spanish treasure fleet in Cuba.
Effects[]
Creates a revolving image of another nation’s center of culture, arts or architecture, often around a capital city. To correctly regulate the scale, it forms a large model of the landmark that envelopes anywhere from a small room to acres, filling the available space until it meets a boundary. Nothing is physically summoned, being more akin to an illusion or hologram one can walkaround.
Causes intensifying bouts of nausea and seasickness. Going around the monument once can nullify it, although it must be navigated fully – no skipping anywhere on the perimeter or it worsens.