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.

Prescription Label, Apotheke in Siegenvon Eduard Polthoff

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
1991.0664.1232
catalog number
1991.0664.1232
accession number
1991.0664

SAL3SE REPIL

This blown-glass jar has a wide mouth and is covered with leather secured at the neck with string. The shield-shaped label is outlined in brown and is marked SAL3SE REPL in alternating red and black letters.
Description
This blown-glass jar has a wide mouth and is covered with leather secured at the neck with string. The shield-shaped label is outlined in brown and is marked SAL3SE REPL in alternating red and black letters. The jar contained Saccharum Saturn, sugar of lead which was prescribed as an astringent or antidiaphoretic.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0446
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05595
collector/donor number
SAP 307
catalog number
1991.0664.0446

BOLUS ALBUS

This drug jar is marked BOLUS ALBUS. Bolus is a sticky clay-like substance which can be shaped into a pill. In Healing Earths: A History of Minerals in Medicine, W.
Description
This drug jar is marked BOLUS ALBUS. Bolus is a sticky clay-like substance which can be shaped into a pill. In Healing Earths: A History of Minerals in Medicine, W. Rudolph Reinbacher refers to Bolus Albus as a German pharmaceutical term.
George Urdang, author of The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue 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, 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
1991.0664.0819
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
1991.0664.0819

Prescription Label, Hirsch Apotheke bei C. Bengardt in Huckeswagen

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
1991.0664.1251
catalog number
1991.0664.1251
accession number
1991.0664

Apothecary Bottle

This blown and molded square-shaped bottle has a narrow neck and a flared lip. The baked white enamel shield is framed by stylized blue leaves with red and yellow flowers. A yellow crown sits atop the shield.
Description
This blown and molded square-shaped bottle has a narrow neck and a flared lip. The baked white enamel shield is framed by stylized blue leaves with red and yellow flowers. A yellow crown sits atop the shield. The alchemical symbols for Spirits, Salt, and Herbs is marked on the label in black. Spirits is the alcohol solution, Salt is ash from a burnt plant, and the herbs steeped in the alcohol to imbue the solution with medicinal properties.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0352
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05502
collector/donor number
SAP 213
catalog number
1991.0664.0352

Sulf Arg

This is a collection of nine free-blown glass vials with cork stoppers. Eight of the containers are filled with chemicals.Currently not on view
Description
This is a collection of nine free-blown glass vials with cork stoppers. Eight of the containers are filled with chemicals.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0978.06
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06374
collector/donor number
SAP 1066
catalog number
1991.0664.0978.06

Prescription Label, Apotheke in Carlsruhe von Dr. E. Riegel

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
1991.0664.1269
catalog number
1991.0664.1269
accession number
1991.0664

Prescription Label, Fust Badeker in Mulheim

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
1991.0664.1229
catalog number
1991.0664.1229
accession number
1991.0664

drug jar

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1098.01
catalog number
1991.0664.1098.01
accession number
1991.0664

ELIX PPT

This blown and molded square–shaped bottle has a baked enamel white oval cartouche which is outlined with blue vines, red and yellow flowers and a three pointed crown. The cartouche is marked ELIX PPT. The Roman numeral "VIII" is etched into the jar’s shoulder.
Description
This blown and molded square–shaped bottle has a baked enamel white oval cartouche which is outlined with blue vines, red and yellow flowers and a three pointed crown. The cartouche is marked ELIX PPT. The Roman numeral "VIII" is etched into the jar’s shoulder. ELIX PPT likely stood for Elixir Proprietatis, or Paracelsus’ Elixir. This elixir was composed of saffron, aloe, and myrrh, and was used as a stimulant, stomachic, and cathartic. Paracelsus touted it as a concoction to continue health and long life.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0385
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05534
collector/donor number
SAP 264
catalog number
1991.0664.0385.01
1991.0664.0385.02

ESS AMONIAC

The label of this blown and molded bottle reads ESS AMONIAC in black text, with the first initial of each word in red. It would have held the Essence of Ammoniac, or the Essence of Ammonium Chloride.
Description
The label of this blown and molded bottle reads ESS AMONIAC in black text, with the first initial of each word in red. It would have held the Essence of Ammoniac, or the Essence of Ammonium Chloride. Ammonium chloride was part of a solution of alcohol, and prescribed as a diaphoretic, diuretic, cathartic, and emetic.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0298
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05447
collector/donor number
SAP 156
catalog number
1991.0664.0298

Mortar

White marble mortar has four carved faces wearing laurel wreaths on their heads serves as handles. The top of the rim has an egg and dart border.
Description
White marble mortar has four carved faces wearing laurel wreaths on their heads serves as handles. The top of the rim has an egg and dart border. The body of the mortar is decorated with carvings of Pegasus and a rider, the profile of a man wearing a toga and lauel wreath on his head, a seated woman wearing a toga and holding a sphere, a second horse with a fishes tail. The top of the rim is marked "VNITA FORTIO VIRITUS"
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0143
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05696
collector/donor number
SAP 408

Pill Box

Rectangular paper box with a white and gold label from the Konigi: Schloss-Apotheke in Berlin. Additional marks include the handwritten date 1853.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Rectangular paper box with a white and gold label from the Konigi: Schloss-Apotheke in Berlin. Additional marks include the handwritten date 1853.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0982
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 1070
catalog number
1991.0664.0982

Prescription Label, Funcke'sche Apotheke in Linz, No. 85

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
1991.0664.1259
catalog number
1991.0664.1259
accession number
1991.0664

Cantaride prep

This albarello-shaped drug jar has a light blue under glaze, and is decorated with cobalt blue flowers and birds. The escroll at the waist is marked in black gothic script with the cold technique Cantaride prep. Cantharides is powdered Spanish flies.
Description (Brief)
This albarello-shaped drug jar has a light blue under glaze, and is decorated with cobalt blue flowers and birds. The escroll at the waist is marked in black gothic script with the cold technique Cantaride prep. Cantharides is powdered Spanish flies. It was applied to the skin and sometimes used as a blistering agent.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0637
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 561
catalog number
1991.0664.0637

C ROSAR: PALLID

Tin-glazed drug jar with a straight cylindrical wall, a flared neck and a white background with a blue cartouche. The cartouche is decorated with c-scrolls, swags of flowers and tassels. At the top of the cartouche is a basket of fruit flanked by two peacocks.
Description
Tin-glazed drug jar with a straight cylindrical wall, a flared neck and a white background with a blue cartouche. The cartouche is decorated with c-scrolls, swags of flowers and tassels. At the top of the cartouche is a basket of fruit flanked by two peacocks. The interior of the cartouche is marked, "C ROSAR: PALLID".
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
18th Century
ID Number
1991.0664.0839
catalog number
M-06051
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 763

Meissen cup and saucer: one of a pair

TITLE: Meissen: Pair of cups and saucersMAKER: Meissen ManufactoryPHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: ceramic, porcelain (overall material)MEASUREMENTS: Cups: H.2⅝" 6.7cm; Saucers: D.
Description
TITLE: Meissen: Pair of cups and saucers
MAKER: Meissen Manufactory
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: ceramic, porcelain (overall material)
MEASUREMENTS: Cups: H.2⅝" 6.7cm; Saucers: D. 5⅜" 13.7cm
OBJECT NAME: Pair of cups and saucers
PLACE MADE: Meissen, Saxony, Germany
DATE MADE: 1750-1760
SUBJECT:
Art
Domestic Furnishing
Industry and Manufacturing
CREDIT LINE: Hans C. Syz Collection
ID NUMBER: 1989.0715.04 Aab, Bab
COLLECTOR/ DONOR: 207 Aab, 208 Bab
ACCESSION NUMBER:
(DATA SOURCE: National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center)
MARKS: Crossed swords in underglaze blue; “63” impressed on saucer A; “17” impressed on saucer B.
PURCHASED FROM: Adolf Beckhardt, The Art Exchange, New York, 1942.
This pair of cups and saucers is from the Smithsonian’s Hans Syz Collection of Meissen Porcelain. Dr. Syz (1894-1991) began his collection in the early years of World War II, when he purchased eighteenth-century Meissen table wares from the Art Exchange run by the New York dealer Adolf Beckhardt (1889-1962). Dr. Syz, a Swiss immigrant to the United States, collected Meissen porcelain while engaged in a professional career in psychiatry and the research of human behavior. He believed that cultural artifacts have an important role to play in enhancing our awareness and understanding of human creativity and its communication among peoples. His collection grew to represent this conviction.
The invention of Meissen porcelain, declared over three hundred years ago early in 1709, was a collective achievement that represents an early modern precursor to industrial chemistry and materials science. The porcelains we see in our museum collections, made in the small town of Meissen in the German States, were the result of an intense period of empirical research. Generally associated with artistic achievement of a high order, Meissen porcelain was also a technological achievement in the development of inorganic, non-metallic materials.
In the work of French artist Jean Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) we see the development of the fêtes galantes based on the outdoor entertainments in private and public pleasure parks that represent youthful elite society removed from the conventions of court protocol. Watteau’s works depicted conversational, theatrical, and amorous encounters set in idealized pastoral surroundings where the fleeting nature of temporal pleasures hangs over the delicately poised gatherings, and they struck a chord with living protagonists.
In the early 1740s the manufactory began to acquire a collection of copperplate engravings on which the Meissen painters based their Watteauszenen (Watteau scenes), and they became so much in demand that eleven enamel painters were appointed to specialize in these subjects. In this example figures like those seen in the work of Watteau and his followers dance or play musical instruments framed by cartouches of foliage and trellis work.
The figure on the saucer (207 Aab) of a solitary man playing a guitar can be seen on another item in the Hans Syz Collection, a coffeepot (ID number 1983.0565.46), but there the man is not alone, and stands serenading a seated woman in a parkland setting. The subject has its origins in a painting by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) titled L’Enchanteur in which the young man playing a guitar serenades and attempts to engage the interest of two women seated in a park while another male figure stands in the shadows behind them. The subject was engraved by Benoît Audran II (1698-1772). There is a Meissen saucer with the same subject in the collection of Constance I. and Ralph H. Wark at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida. See Ulrich Pietsch, Early Meissen Porcelain: The Wark Collection from the Cummer Museum and Art Gallery (The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens and D.Giles Ltd: Jacksonville FL and London UK, 2011) p.415.
The Meissen manufactory operated under a system of division of labor. Enamel painters specializing in landscapes, with staffage (figures and animals) and Watteau scenes were paid more than those who painted flowers, fruits and underglaze blue patterns. Most painters received pay by the piece rather than a regular wage or salary. Ornamental gold painting was the work of another specialist in the painting division.
On Antoine Watteau see Thomas Crow, 1985, Painters and Public Life in Eighteenth-Century Paris, chapter II, ‘Fêtes Galantes and Fêtes Publiques’, pp. 55-75. See also Sheriff, M. D., (ed.) 2006, Antoine Watteau: Perspectives on the Artist and the Culture of His Time.
On the painting division at Meissen see Rückert, R., 1990, Biographische Daten der Meissener Manufakturisten des 18. Jahrhunderts, pp. 134-136.
Hans Syz, J. Jefferson Miller II, Rainer Rückert, 1979, Catalogue of the Hans Syz Collection: Meissen Porcelain and Hausmalerei, pp. 346-347.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1750-1760
1750-1760
maker
Meissen Manufactory
ID Number
1989.0715.04Aab
accession number
1989.0715
catalog number
1989.0715.04Aab
collector/donor number
207

Acid ?

This is a collection of nine free-blown glass vials with cork stoppers. Eight of the containers are filled with chemicals.Currently not on view
Description
This is a collection of nine free-blown glass vials with cork stoppers. Eight of the containers are filled with chemicals.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.0978.07
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-06374
collector/donor number
SAP 1066
catalog number
1991.0664.0978.07

CREM

This blown and molded square-shaped jar has a wide neck and flared lip. The white baked enamel shield is framed by stylized blue leaves with yellow and red flowers. Above the shield is a yellow crown.
Description
This blown and molded square-shaped jar has a wide neck and flared lip. The white baked enamel shield is framed by stylized blue leaves with yellow and red flowers. Above the shield is a yellow crown. The bottle’s label bears the alchemical symbol for Powder, the word CREM, and the alchemical symbol for Tartar. This jar would have held powdered cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) and is a byproduct of the winemaking process, crystallizing from the must (juice, skin, and pulp of grapes) in the fermenting barrel. Tartar was used as a diuretic and as a cathartic.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th-18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0372
catalog number
M-05521
accession number
1991.0664
collector/donor number
SAP 233
catalog number
1991.0664.0372

Mortar

Cast bonze mortar with bell-shaped mouth and heavy semi-circular handles applied at the waist. There are six gothic-style vertical ribs and thin raised bands at the top and bottom of the body.
Description
Cast bonze mortar with bell-shaped mouth and heavy semi-circular handles applied at the waist. There are six gothic-style vertical ribs and thin raised bands at the top and bottom of the body. Other decorative motifs include a band of vines and writing at the mouth and one raised and one carved alchemist symbol between ribs for powder.
Urdang attributes this mortar to Florence. The band at the mouth is marked "...NICOLA bARyenini 1477" perhaps the "owner or founder" suggest Urdang.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1477
ID Number
1991.0664.0100
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05653
collector/donor number
SAP 365

Prescription Label, Polnische Apotheke

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
1849-01-11
ID Number
1991.0664.1195
catalog number
1991.0664.1195
accession number
1991.0664

drug jar

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1991.0664.1098.70
catalog number
1991.0664.1098.70
accession number
1991.0664

Apothecary Bottle, SAL VOL OLEOS SYLV

This blown and molded bottle has a Baroque-style blue and yellow cartouche with red and black lettering. The baked enamel label is marked SAL VOL OLEOS SYLV.Currently not on view
Description
This blown and molded bottle has a Baroque-style blue and yellow cartouche with red and black lettering. The baked enamel label is marked SAL VOL OLEOS SYLV.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
1991.0664.0261
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05410
collector/donor number
SAP 119

Vng: Rasin:

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
18th Century
ID Number
1991.0664.0701
accession number
1991.0664
catalog number
M-05913
1991.0664.0701.01
1991.0664.0701.02
collector/donor number
SAP 625

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