Cantha. rid

Description:

This urn–shaped drug jar has a straight neck and a round, domed foot. The lid has a cone–shaped finial. The background glaze is grayish–white. A rectangular label is formed in the center of the jar by thin lines of brown, yellow and green, topped by a small cartouche. The frame is surrounded at its top and bottom by yellow and green vines and black 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. The jar’s label reads Cantha rid. Cantharidin is more widely known as Spanish Fly, a secretion from the male blister beetle. Cantharidin is used as an aphrodisiac and as a blistering agent, an alternative to cupping.

Date Made: 18th century

Location: Currently not on view

Subject: Pharmacy

Subject:

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Medicine, Health & Medicine, European Apothecary, Art

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Related Publication: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection

Credit Line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1991.0664.0563Collector/Donor Number: SAP 487Catalog Number: 1991.0664.0563.011991.0664.0563.02M-05575Accession Number: 1991.0664

Object Name: jar

Physical Description: ceramic (overall material)Measurements: overall: 28.7 cm x 14.5 cm; 11 5/16 in x 5 23/32 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a8-d562-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_994231

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