Object Details
- Description
- This square shaped glass bottle is marked AQ TARAXAC. It would have held the root and leaves of the dandelion which were used as a tonic and diuretic.
- There are 347 glass drug containers in the Bristol Myers Squibb Collection. The labels and ornamentation applied to the surface of the glass are of two types, baked enamel and cold painted decoration. The more permanent of the two techniques, baked enamel, uses pigments composed of finely ground glass. The decoration is then fired into the surface of the vessel. Cold paint decoration is far more fragile. The paint is applied to the glass and is protected by a thin wash of varnish. The paint is easily scratched, and over time can begin to flake.
- Most of the BMS collection is decorated with baked enamel baroque shields framed with ribbons and capped with crowns and the flora and fauna of the rococo style. The glass containers in the Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection were produced in the glass houses of the German forests. Windows, drinking vessels, beads and laboratory apparatus are among the products the glass houses turned out. Apothecary containers, utilitarian utensils were second rate goods, made by craftsmen, not artisans.
- Many glass houses sold their products directly to the consumer, and specialized styles and labels could be made for a particular apothecary. Gaffers, or glass blowers, created the containers. Enamellers, many of whom were itinerant workers, traveled throughout Europe from one glass house to another, painting the labels and decoration onto the glass. The provenance of a glass jar or a particular glass house can be difficult to determine. Although individual glass houses, gaffers and enamellers are difficult to identify, it is sometimes possible to recognize an apothecary by its crest or by a particular decorative motif incorporated into the design. Glass drug containers were standard in 17th and 18th century German apothecaries, but are rare today because of their inherent fragility.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
- 18th century
- ID Number
- 1991.0664.0171
- accession number
- 1991.0664
- catalog number
- M-05319
- 1991.0664.0171
- collector/donor number
- SAP 28
- Object Name
- bottle
- Other Terms
- bottle; PHARMACEUTICAL CONTAINER
- Physical Description
- glass (overall material)
- paint (overall material)
- white (overall color)
- blue (overall color)
- black (overall color)
- red (overall color)
- yellow (overall color)
- blown (overall production method/technique)
- rococo (overall style)
- Measurements
- overall: 18 cm x 8.2 cm x 8.1 cm; 7 1/16 in x 3 1/4 in x 3 3/16 in
- unspecified
- Germany
- Related Publication
- Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
- Margaret B. Freeman. Herbs for the Mediaeval Household
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Medicine
- European Apothecary
- Health & Medicine
- Art
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Pharmacy
- Record ID
- nmah_994139
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-4ee6-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
