Note on the pope's chamberlain; geometric solids (780r)
'Battista dall'Aquila has my book'; pyramids and polyhedra, sums and a sprig
At the top, upside-down, Leonardo notes that Messer Battista dall'Aquila, the pope's privy chamberlain, has his book 'in his hands,' under the heading De voce. The lower sheet is filled with drawings of pyramids and faceted polyhedra, one geometric figure lettered b a ò d c - n - h f e g, together with a small flowering sprig. Scattered arithmetic (an interrupted 40 10, a pencil multiplication reaching 396, and a measure in canne) runs among much further faint, untranscribed writing across the upper half.
On this page
'The pope's chamberlain has my book'
Written upside-down along the top margin, the note records that Messer Battista dall'Aquila, private chamberlain to the pope, holds Leonardo's book in his hands, under the heading De voce ('On the voice').
Geometric figure lettered b a ò d c - n - h f e g
A geometric figure is set out with the points b a ò d c, n, and h f e g. It belongs with the cluster of drawn solids in the lower half of the sheet.
Pyramids and faceted polyhedra
The lower sheet carries several ink studies of triangular pyramids and faceted, star-like polyhedra seen from different angles, the kind of solid-geometry exercises Leonardo pursued repeatedly.
Pencil multiplication and a measure in canne
In pencil Leonardo works a multiplication, 33 by 12, giving 66 and 33 as partial products and a total of 396, followed by a measurement noted as 6 canne. A separate interrupted operation reads 40 10.
Small flowering sprig
Among the solids Leonardo has drawn a small flowering sprig with a curling stem, a quick botanical jotting set beside the geometric figures.