This waisted drug jar has a flared foot and a deep blue glaze over a white background. The jar is decorated with stylized flowers and leaves on the upper and lower shoulders. The label at the center of the waist is marked, Ung d althea. The jar would have contained an ointment made from the Althaea, or marshmallow plant. The ointment was often taken from the roots of the plant and used as an emollient and demulcent (an oily substance to relieve a sore mucous membrane). This jar belongs to a set of drug containers seen in objects 1991.0664.0589 through 1991.0664.0596.
This blown and molded glass bottle with stopper has a baked enamel label marked, OL RUTAE. Oil of Rutae is made from the herb Ruta graveolens more commonly known as Rue. The leaves of the herb are distilled in alcohol and used as a stimulant, an antispasmodic, for convulsions and hysteria, and as an abortifacient, to induce a miscarriage.
This oval brass container has a hinged lid. The exterior is elaborately engraved, with dancing characters flanked by two angels. An illegible engraving is at the bottom of the lid. The interior of the lid is lined with shagreen (sharkskin).
A painted floral garland with a red bow on top and a blue bow at the bottom decorates this white apothecary bottle. The inside of the garland is marked, “ELIX/IUNIPER.” This jar would have contained an Elixir of Juniper, made from juniper berries. The elixir was used as a carminative, tonic, and diuretic.
This vase-shaped drug jar has a flared lip and applied round foot. The Baroque-style blue and yellow label with a white oval shield is not marked. Containers with blank labels could be filled with different ingredients depending on the apothecary's needs. When the contents of the jars were replaced the apothecary would write the appropriate name on the medallion.
This albarello has vivid green, yellow and blue-green glazes. The center of the oval shield depicts the back of a nude woman and the other side of the container is a man's profile within a larger circle.
This blown and molded bottle is marked ELIX UTERIN CR. The bottle would have contained an elixir of uterinum, which was a compound of sabin, castor, and myrrh that was used to stimulate menses.
This blown and molded square–shaped bottle has a white baked enamel oval cartouche that is outlined with blue vines, red and yellow flowers and a three-pointed crown. The cartouche is marked ANIS beneath the alchemical symbols for spirits, salt, and herb. The jar would have contained a concoction using the anise plant, which was noted for its use as a tonic, or a pectoral (for chest and lung relief), or to relieve flatulence.
This baluster–shaped drug jar has a scalloped foot and a round, flat lid. The foot has a scalloped rim and a vine of tiny flowers and leaves. The handle of the lid is an applied leaf and round orange berry. The container has a white glazed background with two rings of blue, orange, and yellow stylized flowers. One ring is at the top of the container and the other is at the bottom. Within the two rings of flowers is the text “Comf Ninphe.” Ninphea (nymphaea) refers to the water lily, whose roots were used as an astringent and a narcotic.
This blown and molded bottle has a baked enamel which reads BALS VITAE HOFFM. The bottle would have contained Hoffman’s Balsam of Life, a tincture from the balsam of Peru (myroxylon pereirae) and other aromatics synthesized by the German physician Friedrich Hoffman during the 18th century. The Balsam of Life would have been used as a liniment for treating wounds.
Eyecups or eye baths were made from a variety of materials including silver, glass and aluminum. Silver eyecups were used as early as the 16th century. However, it was not until the 18th century when more common materials such as ceramics and glass made them popular and accessible to the general public. Eyecups are used to clean the eyes with a medicated solution or plain water. This oval eyecup is ceramic and the rim conforms to the eye. It has a tapered pedestal which flares out into the foot. It has a white glazed background with blue and pink flowers.
This white albarello displays a blue shield divided into four sections with depictions of two castles and two lions. A yellow–brown free–form label below the shield has been left blank to be filled in by the apothecary.
This bright blue and white albarello has bands of cross hatching at the collar. Blue stripes divide the container into sections. Large blue balls surrounded by elongated triangular shapes with collars. Urdang attributed this albarello to 15th century Florece. 1954 G. Folch Jou felt this piece was of Spanish origin.
This aothecary jar has a flared lip and an applied foot. The painted label is applied with the cold paint technique. The white egg-shaped shield is outlined in black and is marked CALCAR SULPHU STIB in black. The jar would have contained Calcarea Sulphurica Stib (Calcium Sulphate Antimony), which was used to alleviate a variety of skin ailments.
This tin–glazed polychrome albarello is decorated with green wavy ribbons and a blue, green, yellow, and ochre wreaths framing blue and ochre C–scrolls on a white background. A blue and yellow rectangle band is without an inscription.
This blown and molded round glass bottle has a narrow neck with a wide flared lip and a rounded glass stopper. The white baked enamel label is outlined in blue, terminating with a blue bow and a yellow crown. The label is marked OL MAIOR in black. In Latin, the letter I was often used instead of a J as seen on the bottle. The bottle would have contained an oil of majorana, made from the leaves of the majoram tree. The oil was prescribed as a tonic, cephalic as a possible cure for headache, and expectorant.
This small wide-mouthed drug jar has a whitish tin glaze decorated by a round blue shield with an empty interior. The shield is flanked by two rampant lions and topped by a crown and an orb. The maker’s mark is on the bottom of the container.
George Urdang attributes this jar and 1991.0664.0737 to 18th century Offenbach in the state of Hesse. A potter’s mark is on the bottom of the jar.
Satirical print of medical remedies ranging from enemas, to potions, to reliance on St. James, the apostle who travelled to Iberia and is identified by his cockle shells. The text at the bottom reads “Envain pour les guérir on accourt à leur aide / La rage est dans le Coeur, il n’est plus de remède.” The “Imp. Lithog. de C. Motte” inscription at the bottom right refers to the Paris lithographer, Charles Etienne Pierre Motte (1785-1836).
This blown and molded glass jar has a baked enamel label surrounded by a gold escutcheon topped by a gold crown. The label is marked with the alchemical symbols for Mercury and Precipitate and RUBR. The jar would have contained red mercuric oxide, which was used as an escharotic, a salve to kill tissue and remove dead skin cells.
Vinzenz Priessnitz (1799-1851), a peasant farmer in Silesia, is now considered the father of modern hydrotherapy. This portait of him was attributed to Ruprecht, and printed by Johann Hőfelich in Vienna.
The portrait is surrounded by an oval frame composed of branches holding vignettes related to water and bathing. Posiden holds a trident in one hand and a glass in his other hand; and Putti pour cornucopias of water over bathers.