Art

Panorama of the Army of the Cumberland

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.

Topic: Pharmacy

Florentine Bottle

Free blown green glass container with a long neck, a round squat body and an applied curved spout. Florentine bottles were used for the distillation of flower oils.Currently not on view
Description
Free blown green glass container with a long neck, a round squat body and an applied curved spout. Florentine bottles were used for the distillation of flower oils.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0929
collector/donor number
SAP 1017
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06325
1991.0664.0929

PULV. TUB.SALEP

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1700 - 1799
ID Number
1991.0664.0745
catalog number
M-05957
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 669

Prescription Label, Lowen Apotheke in Landshut

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
1991.0664.1140
catalog number
1991.0664.1140
accession number
1991.0664

Joh. Leonhardus Stoeberlein

Engraving by Wolfgang Philip Kilian of Johhan Leonhardus Stoeberlein (1636-1696), an apothecary in Nuremberg. He was the son of Wolfgang Stoeberlein.Currently not on view
Description
Engraving by Wolfgang Philip Kilian of Johhan Leonhardus Stoeberlein (1636-1696), an apothecary in Nuremberg. He was the son of Wolfgang Stoeberlein.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1700
depicted
Stoeberlein, Johhan Leonhardus
ID Number
1991.0664.0058
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06204
collector/donor number
SAP 897

Albarello

This albarello is decorated with a heraldic ornament, painted in white, blue, yellow, green, and orange. A yellow bird with wings spread is in the center of a cartouche topped by a crown. The yellow oval is framed by a green wreath.
Description
This albarello is decorated with a heraldic ornament, painted in white, blue, yellow, green, and orange. A yellow bird with wings spread is in the center of a cartouche topped by a crown. The yellow oval is framed by a green wreath. The back side of the jar has a stylized blue vine and leaf pattern.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
16th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0545
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05757
collector/donor number
SAP 469
catalog number
1991.0664.0545

Prescription Label, Apotheke in Grasfrath von G Schnable

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
1991.0664.1156
catalog number
1991.0664.1156
accession number
1991.0664

TROCIS ALANDALL

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 TROCIS ALANDALL” Trochiscus Alandall, also known as Troches of Alhandal, were lozenges made from the citrullus colocynthis plant. Colocynthis lozenges would have been used as a cathartic.
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
1991.0664.0504
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05716
collector/donor number
SAP 428
catalog number
1991.0664.0504

Prescription Label, Hofapotheke in Braunfels von Carl Hagen

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
1991.0664.1299
catalog number
1991.0664.1299
accession number
1991.0664

ELET:ROST:DIMN

On this tin–glazed albarello, blue wavy ribbons flank a multicolored wreath framing a monk carrying a long cross over his shoulder. The year 1623 is painted above a yellow band inscribed ELET ROST DIMN. Other inscriptions include the initials, S. and D.
Description
On this tin–glazed albarello, blue wavy ribbons flank a multicolored wreath framing a monk carrying a long cross over his shoulder. The year 1623 is painted above a yellow band inscribed ELET ROST DIMN. Other inscriptions include the initials, S. and D. flanking the monk, and A.O. and ORE at the top of the yellow band. The jar likely would have contained an electuary of rosato, a medicinal paste that was taken internally as a tonic.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1623
Date made
1623
ID Number
1991.0664.0535
catalog number
M-05747
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 459
catalog number
1991.0664.0535

BALS SULPHUR SUCCIN

This blown and molded square–shaped glass bottle has a narrow neck and rounded shoulders. The label reads BALS SULPHUR SUCCIN in black text, with the first initial of each word in red. The jar would have contained Balsamum Sulphuris Succinum, a balm of sulphur and amber.
Description
This blown and molded square–shaped glass bottle has a narrow neck and rounded shoulders. The label reads BALS SULPHUR SUCCIN in black text, with the first initial of each word in red. The jar would have contained Balsamum Sulphuris Succinum, a balm of sulphur and amber. The balm would have been used as a tonic, emmenagogue, or anti–hysteric.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0306
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05455
collector/donor number
SAP 164
catalog number
1991.0664.0306

HORD PRAEPAR

This drug jar is marked HORD PRAEPAR. Hord may be an abbreviation for Hordeum (which is barley), and Praepar may be an abbreviation for prepared. The cultivation of barley extends back 10,000 years.
Description
This drug jar is marked HORD PRAEPAR. Hord may be an abbreviation for Hordeum (which is barley), and Praepar may be an abbreviation for prepared. The cultivation of barley extends back 10,000 years. Barley is used in cereals and to make beer and whiskey.
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 to museum curators letter 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.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
Date made
1775 - 1799
ID Number
1991.0664.0817
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 741
catalog number
1991.0664.0817

Apothecary Bottle, UNGV: ANIPSOR

This blown glass drug is marked, UNGV: ANIPSOR. The opaque white color of the glass comes from the addition of tin oxide and was meant to imitate porcelain.Currently not on view
Description
This blown glass drug is marked, UNGV: ANIPSOR. The opaque white color of the glass comes from the addition of tin oxide and was meant to imitate porcelain.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0481
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05630
1991.0664.0481.01
1991.0664.0481.02
collector/donor number
SAP 342

LAPID: CANCRor:

This conical-shaped, wooden drug jar has an ivory-colored shield that reads "LAPID:/CANCRor:" There is a rectangular paper label partially glued to the interior of the lid with a remnant of a small piece of yellow paper attached to it.
Description
This conical-shaped, wooden drug jar has an ivory-colored shield that reads "LAPID:/CANCRor:" There is a rectangular paper label partially glued to the interior of the lid with a remnant of a small piece of yellow paper attached to it. Containers 1991.0664.0889 through 892 appear to be from the same apothecary. The Deutsche Apotheken-Museum in Heidelberg, Germany has similar containers in their collection.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0891
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
1991.0664.0891.01
1991.0664.0891.02

Skillet

This 16th century metal bowl has a trapezoid shaped handle and tripod legs that terminate in paw like feet. The interior of the pan has been marked in black, “HP/18m”.
Description
This 16th century metal bowl has a trapezoid shaped handle and tripod legs that terminate in paw like feet. The interior of the pan has been marked in black, “HP/18m”. The exterior has a raised mark in the shape a “W” that is difficult to see because of the dark patina.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0945
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 1033
catalog number
1991.0664.0945

HELEN II

Tin-glazed drug jar with a short straight neck and a slightly flared foot. The jar has a white background with a blue festoon. This container's decorative motif is similar to 1991.0664.0848-.0851, 0853 & .0854.Currently not on view
Description
Tin-glazed drug jar with a short straight neck and a slightly flared foot. The jar has a white background with a blue festoon. This container's decorative motif is similar to 1991.0664.0848-.0851, 0853 & .0854.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1804-1876
maker
H.A. Piccardt
ID Number
1991.0664.0852
catalog number
M-06064
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 776

Prescription Labels

Uncut sheet of thirteen percription labels. 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)
Uncut sheet of thirteen percription labels. 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
1991.0664.1338
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
1991.0664.1338

SY DI GIVGIOL

This syrup jar has a straight spout and an applied strap handle. The white glazed background is covered with depictions of buildings, flowers, and birds in varying shades of blue.
Description
This syrup jar has a straight spout and an applied strap handle. The white glazed background is covered with depictions of buildings, flowers, and birds in varying shades of blue. It is marked “Sy Di GIVGIOL.” The jar would have contained the Syrup of Giuggiolo, or syrup from the Jujube tree. The syrup was used as a deobstruent (to remove obstacles) and a decongestant.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0626
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05838
collector/donor number
SAP 550
catalog number
1991.0664.626

Apothecary Jar, MAT PERLA KUM

This blown, aqua-colored glass container is marked in alternating red and black paint MAT PERLA/KUM Currently not on view
Description
This blown, aqua-colored glass container is marked in alternating red and black paint MAT PERLA/KUM
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0448
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05597
collector/donor number
SAP 309
catalog number
1991.0664.0448

JUNIPERI

Cylindrical drug jar with a short neck and a slightly flared foot. The decorative motif is similar to 1991.0664.0848-0852 & 0854.Currently not on view
Description
Cylindrical drug jar with a short neck and a slightly flared foot. The decorative motif is similar to 1991.0664.0848-0852 & 0854.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1804-1876
maker
H.A. Piccardt
ID Number
1991.0664.0853
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06065
collector/donor number
SAP 777

Prescription Label, Apotheke C.G. Petersen

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
1991.0664.1210
catalog number
1991.0664.1210
accession number
1991.0664

Syrup Jar

George Urdang author of The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue attributes 1991.0664.681 through 1991.0664.0699 to Niderwiller a town near Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France.
Description (Brief)
George Urdang author of The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue attributes 1991.0664.681 through 1991.0664.0699 to Niderwiller a town near Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France. The jars have a white background with two continuous rings of stylized blue, orange and yellow flowers. The spouts are designed to resemble the leaves and stems of a plant. A broken piece of cork is imbedded in the spout of this jar. The handle has two applied brown stems that cross over each other and terminate with green leaves at the widest point of the jar. The lid is flat with an applied green vine-like handle with red fruit and green leaves.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0682
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 606
catalog number
1991.0664.0682.01
1991.0664.0682.02

drug jar

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1098.23
catalog number
1991.0664.1098.23
accession number
1991.0664

ESS SERPENT

This free-blown glass container has a narrow neck and a flared lip. The baked white enamel circular shield is flanked by green leaves. At the top of the shield is a red crown with a yellow orb.
Description (Brief)
This free-blown glass container has a narrow neck and a flared lip. The baked white enamel circular shield is flanked by green leaves. At the top of the shield is a red crown with a yellow orb. Below the oval shield is the coat of arms for the Duchy of Saxony Marseburg and the house of Marseburg. Due to a crack that bisects directly through the left pendant the coat of arms is somewhat obscured. The shield is marked in red and black ESS/ SERPENT.
In the Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue, George Urdang notes that this jar was made prior to 1738, as the dukes of Saxony no longer resided in Marsebreg after that date.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1738
ID Number
1991.0664.0226
catalog number
M--05374
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 83
catalog number
1991.0664.0226

Albarello

This albarello has a flared foot and is painted with decorative blue, yellow, and green flowers, and leaves and vines. In the center of the jar is a portrait of the Madonna holding the infant Jesus. Mary wears a gold dress with blue mantle and a gold crown on her head.
Description
This albarello has a flared foot and is painted with decorative blue, yellow, and green flowers, and leaves and vines. In the center of the jar is a portrait of the Madonna holding the infant Jesus. Mary wears a gold dress with blue mantle and a gold crown on her head. In her left hand Mary holds two cords attached to two squares. Just below Mary are the heads of three females engulfed in the flames of hell. George Urdang attributes this jar to 18th–century Castelli.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0571
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05783
collector/donor number
SAP 495
catalog number
1991.0664.0571

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