Art

The National Museum of American History is not an art museum. But works of art fill its collections and testify to the vital place of art in everyday American life. The ceramics collections hold hundreds of examples of American and European art glass and pottery. Fashion sketches, illustrations, and prints are part of the costume collections. Donations from ethnic and cultural communities include many homemade religious ornaments, paintings, and figures. The Harry T Peters "America on Stone" collection alone comprises some 1,700 color prints of scenes from the 1800s. The National Quilt Collection is art on fabric. And the tools of artists and artisans are part of the Museum's collections, too, in the form of printing plates, woodblock tools, photographic equipment, and potters' stamps, kilns, and wheels.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0530
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05742
collector/donor number
SAP 454
Ophthalmic syringe with a turned silver barrel, plunger, and nozzle. A ring handle attached to the plunger is stamped with two hallmarks. An end cap screws onto the barrel. When the cap is removed the plunger and leather washer can be seen.
Description
Ophthalmic syringe with a turned silver barrel, plunger, and nozzle. A ring handle attached to the plunger is stamped with two hallmarks. An end cap screws onto the barrel. When the cap is removed the plunger and leather washer can be seen. The nozzle screws onto the barrel.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0985
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06381
collector/donor number
SAP 1073
This free blown green glass container has a long neck, a slightly flared lip, a round squat body, and a twisted spout. Florentine bottles were used for the distillation of flower oils.Currently not on view
Description
This free blown green glass container has a long neck, a slightly flared lip, a round squat body, and a twisted spout. Florentine bottles were used for the distillation of flower oils.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0935
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06331
collector/donor number
SAP 1023
catalog number
1991.0664.0935
Gothic-style, beaker-shaped bronze mortar with an applied square handle and three vertical ribs. The ribs extend from a horizontal rib just below the neck to a horizontal rib just above the base of the vessel.
Description
Gothic-style, beaker-shaped bronze mortar with an applied square handle and three vertical ribs. The ribs extend from a horizontal rib just below the neck to a horizontal rib just above the base of the vessel. Urdang believed this mortar to be of Germanic origin of the late 15th century.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0092
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05645
collector/donor number
SAP 357
This drug jar is marked CORT: CHIN:FLAV.
Description
This drug jar is marked CORT: CHIN:FLAV. It probably contained bark from the Cinchona tree.
Pharmaceutical historian George Urdang attributes containers 1991.0664.0760 through 1991.0664.0825 to Hanau in the late 18th century based on the floral design surrounding the medallion and the initials HN on the bottom of many of the jars in the series. However, in a letter to museum curators dated August 1983, pharmaceutical historian Wolfgang-Hagen Hein wrote that the containers without initials and those marked FH were made in Florsheim in the German state of Hesse.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
Date made
1775 - 1799
ID Number
1991.0664.0821
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 745
catalog number
1991.0664.0821
This albarello has a white background and blue, green, purple–brown and yellow–orange stylized floral motifs flanked by solid bands of color. Pharmaceutical historian George Urdang dates this albarello to 16th-century Florence.
Description
This albarello has a white background and blue, green, purple–brown and yellow–orange stylized floral motifs flanked by solid bands of color. Pharmaceutical historian George Urdang dates this albarello to 16th-century Florence. In a letter dated 7 October 1973, pharmaceutical historian and author Dr. D. A. Wittop Koning attributes the place of origin to the Netherlands, and Professor Wolfgang–Hagen Hein, to 16th-century Antwerpen.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1500 - 1599
ID Number
1991.0664.0520
catalog number
M-05732
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 444
catalog number
1991.0664.0520
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1098.08
catalog number
1991.0664.1098.08
accession number
1991.0664
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1098.04
catalog number
1991.0664.1098.04
accession number
1991.0664
This pitcher–shaped jar serves as a measure for liquids. It has an applied double sausage roll handle. The jar has a whitish glaze background and is decorated with a blue laurel motif framing the magnesium–colored lettering.
Description
This pitcher–shaped jar serves as a measure for liquids. It has an applied double sausage roll handle. The jar has a whitish glaze background and is decorated with a blue laurel motif framing the magnesium–colored lettering. The pitcher is marked “1/2” on the spout and “B.S/ Lilco” on the waist.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1700 - 1799
ID Number
1991.0664.0668
catalog number
M-05880
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 592
catalog number
1991.0664.0668
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria. Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1991.0664.1123
catalog number
1991.0664.1123
accession number
1991.0664
This urne–shaped drug jar has a grayish–white glaze, a straight neck, and a round, domed foot. The lid has a cone–shaped finial.
Description
This urne–shaped drug jar has a grayish–white glaze, a straight neck, and a round, domed foot. The lid has a cone–shaped finial. A rectangular label is formed at the center of the jar by thin lines of brown, yellow, and green, topped by four C–scrolls forming a blue cartouche with a yellow center. The label creates a frame for the jars inscription.
The inscription reads Cort Cinnam. The outer frame is surrounded at its top and bottom by yellow and green vines and swags of beads. Correspondence in 1954 between Division of Medicine Associate Curator George Griffenhagen and George Urdang notes that the jars appear to be of Catalonian–Aragonese origin. This jar would have contained Cortex Cinnamomum, Latin for cinnamon bark which was used as an aromatic to stimulate the appetite and aid digestion.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0564
collector/donor number
SAP 488
catalog number
1991.0664.0564.01
1991.0664.0564.02
M-05776
accession number
1991.0664
This blown and molded square-shaped glass jar is decorated with a baked enamel shield outlined in red and black and capped with a yellow crown. A lion lies at the bottom of the shield.
Description
This blown and molded square-shaped glass jar is decorated with a baked enamel shield outlined in red and black and capped with a yellow crown. A lion lies at the bottom of the shield. According to George Urdang, author of The Squibb ancient Pharmacy Catalogue the seated lion is an indication that the jar was from a pharmacy named Lion Apothecary. It is marked with the alchemical symbol for salt and C RE CT.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0228
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05376
collector/donor number
SAP 85
catalog number
1991.0664.0228
"SEM: LYCOPOD." are seeds of the Bugleweed. They can be used as an astringent, narcotic, and as a douche.
Description (Brief)
"SEM: LYCOPOD." are seeds of the Bugleweed. They can be used as an astringent, narcotic, and as a douche. George Urdang author of The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue attributes the containers 1991.0664.0760 through 1991.0664.0825 to Hanau in the late 18th century based on the floral design surrounding the medallion, and the initials "HN" on the bottom of many of the jars in the series. However, in a letter to museum curators dated August 1983, the pharmaceutical historian Wolfgang-Hagen Hein wrote that the containers without initials and those marked "FH" were made in Florsheim in the German state of Hesse twenty-three miles southwest of Hanau.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
Date made
1775 - 1799
ID Number
1991.0664.0785
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 709
catalog number
1991.0664.0785
This blown and molded bottle has a narrow neck for pouring liquids. It's baked enamel label is framed by a Baroque style blue and yellow cartouche, and is marked AQ CARBUNC. The bottle would have contained Aqua Carbunclus.
Description
This blown and molded bottle has a narrow neck for pouring liquids. It's baked enamel label is framed by a Baroque style blue and yellow cartouche, and is marked AQ CARBUNC. The bottle would have contained Aqua Carbunclus. Carbunclus is Latin for coal, and this solution was likely a mixture of water and coal, or another form of carbon.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0278
catalog number
M-05427
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 136
catalog number
1991.0664.0278
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th Century
ID Number
1991.0664.0709
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05921
collector/donor number
SAP 633
catalog number
1991.0664.0709.01
1991.0664.0709.02
This squat–shaped drug jar has a baluster-shaped body and a stepped flared foot. A yellow shield depicts a lion balanced on one hind leg, holding an orb with its two front paws.
Description
This squat–shaped drug jar has a baluster-shaped body and a stepped flared foot. A yellow shield depicts a lion balanced on one hind leg, holding an orb with its two front paws. The shield is surrounded by an elaborate blue floral motif on a white glazed background with yellow rope bands at the neck and the rim of the foot.
A yellow and blue striped escroll is inscribed in black, PILL DE CINOGL OSS. The jar would have contained pills of cynoglossum. The herb cynoglossum, also known as hound’s-tongue, was used as a narcotic, sedative, astringent, and expectorant.
The jar was incorporated into the Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Collection when it was purchased at auction in 1935 from the American Art Association Anderson Galleries in New York City.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1600
Date made
1675 - 1699
ID Number
1991.0664.0505
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05717
collector/donor number
SAP 429
catalog number
1991.0664.0505
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
18th Century
ID Number
1991.0664.0703
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05915
1991.0664.0704.01
1991.0664.0704.02
collector/donor number
SAP 627
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1858-08-25
ID Number
1991.0664.1277
catalog number
1991.0664.1277
accession number
1991.0664
A tabernacle is a religious structure or shrine where one can place offerings such as a monetary donation or a symbolic gesture for a wish or as thanks for an answered prayer.This tabernacle shrine is a concave wooden form in the shape of an arch with rounded cusps and foils.
Description
A tabernacle is a religious structure or shrine where one can place offerings such as a monetary donation or a symbolic gesture for a wish or as thanks for an answered prayer.
This tabernacle shrine is a concave wooden form in the shape of an arch with rounded cusps and foils. The back of the wooden form is rough and looks as if it was meant be set into a niche. Two sheets of thin brass are molded and nailed to the top of the wooden form ending about two inches from the base. Inset into the arch at the top is a large repousse baroque shell. Below the shell is an apothecary cabinet created by a stamping technique, possibly repousse silver over brass.
The miniature apothecary has three sections of cabinets. The center cabinet protrudes (3 1/4") slightly. The cabinets are made of silver over brass with two round columns in the center. Apothecary jars sit on three rows of cabinets and four shelves. A decorative gallery extends across all three sections of the apothecary.
In the center of the tabernacle is the figure of Christ on the Cross made of molded silver over brass. Above the figure is a plaque engraved with the Latin initials "INRI", for Iesus Nazarenus Rex iudaeorum, in English, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
The nails that secure the shrine to the wooden “frame” appear to be modern, probably late 19th-century, suggesting the shrine was placed in the “frame” to keep it stable before being sold to collector Jo Mayer. There are no square holes in the wood which would indicate older nails.
George Urdang and F. W. Nitardy described the shrine in "The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue", as a “votive tabernacle shrine in the form of an ancient pharmacy . . . made in the moderate-baroque style of the middle 18th century . . . . The tabernacle was a gift from a grateful patient to a Bavarian cloister pharmacy. It is said to be the work of gold and silversmiths of Augsburg . . .” After close inspection, the gold colored metal appears to be brass, although the metalsmith did use silver over brass for the cabinets and apothecary jars.
It is interesting to note, in his article, “Rarities and Antiques in the Collection of Jo Mayer,” Ferchl writes that the shrine was procured "through various channels of the art trade into the haven of the Wiesbaden collection." Though obscure, this is the only reference found to date indicating how any of Mayer's collection were acquired.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.1014
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06284
collector/donor number
SAP 976
catalog number
1991.0664.1014
This glass bottle has a baked enamel label marked TINCT MART APERIY ZW. The European Apothecary Collection contains dozens of drug jars with this same embellishment.
Description
This glass bottle has a baked enamel label marked TINCT MART APERIY ZW. The European Apothecary Collection contains dozens of drug jars with this same embellishment. The generic blue and yellow decoration with its stylized crown above the cartouche is similar to glass drug jars in the collection of the Deutsche Apotheken Museum in Heidelberg, Germany.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0249
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05397
collector/donor number
SAP 106
catalog number
1991.0664.0249
This is a blue, yellow and green tin glazed waisted drug jar. The jar is decorated with a painted female mythological figure with a swan in one hand and flowers in the other, set against a landscape. On either side of the figure are vertical bands of foliage.
Description
This is a blue, yellow and green tin glazed waisted drug jar. The jar is decorated with a painted female mythological figure with a swan in one hand and flowers in the other, set against a landscape. On either side of the figure are vertical bands of foliage. An escrol above the figure is marked “THERIACA ANDROMACHI.” Theriac, an opium compound, was thought to be a panacea for a variety of diseases and an antidote for poison. Andromachus served as the Roman Emperor Nero’s physician, and this opium compound would have contained his formulation of the medicine.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1700 - 1799
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0646
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05858
collector/donor number
SAP 570
catalog number
1991.0664.0646
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.Early labels were plain and without adornment.
Description (Brief)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection has over two hundred early prescription labels from dozens of apothecaries across Germany and Austria.
Early labels were plain and without adornment. Later embellishments included decorative borders, images of animals such as stags, lions, or elephants associated with the name of the apothecary.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1257
catalog number
1991.0664.1257
accession number
1991.0664
This blue monochrome albarello-shaped drug jar has a stylized cobalt-blue floral motif with a cross-hatch band just above the shoulder and foot. An escroll in the center of the container is inscribed in gothic script, u dialtea.
Description
This blue monochrome albarello-shaped drug jar has a stylized cobalt-blue floral motif with a cross-hatch band just above the shoulder and foot. An escroll in the center of the container is inscribed in gothic script, u dialtea. This jar would have contained Unguentum Dialthaea, an ointment made from the gummy extract of the roots of the Althaea officinalis, also known as the Marshmallow. The ointment was used to soothe irritated throats and to relieve coughs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1500
Date made
1500 - 1550
ID Number
1991.0664.0495
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05707
collector/donor number
SAP 419
catalog number
1991.0664.0495
This albarello-shaped drug jar is decorated with blue arches or false gadroons.
Description (Brief)
This albarello-shaped drug jar is decorated with blue arches or false gadroons. In Apothecary Jars by Rudolf Drey, a similar jar to 1991.0664.0648 through 1991.0664.0664 is illustrated, and attributed to Savona, a seaport town in northern Italy, and has a similar blue and manganese pallet. The Roman numeral X has been glazed onto the bottom of the foot.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0657
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 581
catalog number
1991.0664.0657

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