This image is one of a sub-series in the 'Splendor Solis', showing crowned alchemical flasks containing symbols of the various stages of the Great Work. In the original manuscript, scenes of symbolically relevant activities in village life are shown outside the image, along with an astronomical sign at the top. Lennep identifies the beast shown as Cerberus, while he notes that Hartlaub calls it a lion. The three colours here (white, red and black) are the colours through which the philosopher's stone passes in the process of transmutation.