Pestle Collection (#3)

EGYPT: BEDOUIN WOMAN. A Bedouin woman grinding flour in Sinai, Egypt. Photograph, early or mid 20th century

CURTIS: WICHITA WOMAN. A Wichita Native American woman using a large mortar and pestle. Photograph by Edward Curtis, c1927

Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, c. 1618 (oil on canvas)
XIR61092 Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, c.1618 (oil on canvas) by Velazquez, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y (1599-1660); 60x103.5 cm; National Gallery, London, UK; Spanish

Kitchen Maid with the Supper at Emmaus, c. 1618 (oil on canvas)
XIR61084 Kitchen Maid with the Supper at Emmaus, c.1618 (oil on canvas) by Velazquez, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y (1599-1660); 55x118 cm; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

An apothecary grinding herbs, from The Illustrated Library Shakespeare
KW469553 An apothecary grinding herbs, from The Illustrated Library Shakespeare, published London 1890 (litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; Ken Welsh; English

Cook, Pastrycook, Caterer, Seller of roast meat, illustration from the Encyclopedia
XIR253042 Cook, Pastrycook, Caterer, Seller of roast meat, illustration from the Encyclopedia by Denis Diderot, 1751-72 (engraving) (b/w photo) by French School

Still life: Fast Day Menu, 1731 (oil on copper)
XIR21367 Still life: Fast Day Menu, 1731 (oil on copper) by Chardin, Jean-Baptiste Simeon (1699-1779); 33x41 cm; Louvre, Paris, France; (add.info.: Menu de Maigre et Ustensiles de Cuisine; ); French

Interior of a Pharmacy (oil on canvas)
XIR173031 Interior of a Pharmacy (oil on canvas) by Italian School, (18th century); Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, Bologna, Italy; Italian, out of copyright

The Pharmacists Workshop (oil on canvas)
XJL158853 The Pharmacists Workshop (oil on canvas) by French School, (17th century); Musee Rolin, Autun, France; French, out of copyright

Azerbaijan, Lahic. A collection of engraved copper cups and mortars

Istanbul, Turkey. Items on display

ALCHEMIST, 18th CENTURY. An alchemist adding a scorpion to a potion. Colored etching, 18th century

PHARMACEUTICAL TOOLS. American typefounders cut, 19th century

PHARMACY SIGN, 19th CENTURY. American typefounders cut, 19th century

MORTAR AND PESTLE. American typefounders cut, 19th century

CURTIS: WISHRAM WOMAN. A Wishram Native American woman in Washington State with a mortar and pestle. Photograph by Edward Curtis, c1910

Japan - Women preparing food including chopping a daikon
Japan - Women preparing food including a Geisha girl preparing (cutting) daikon (white radish), possibly for takuan or bettarazuke dishes and another woman grinding foodstuffs using a pestle

Pounding rice - Malabar region of Southern India
Sifting, sorting and pounding rice with a large pestle and mortar - Malabar region of southern India (lying between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea). Date: circa 1910s

Preparing Manioc at Banghi in the Congo. Fufu, or cassava bread, is made in Africa by first pounding cassava (Manioc) in a mortar to make flour (as shown here)

Indian Village Life - Separating Butter and Crushing Spices. This is from the North West Frontier Province, then Northern India on the border with Afghanistan - now part of Pakistan

Brightly lit pot of chives on kitchen counter credit: Marie-Louise Avery / thePictureKitchen / TopFoto

The Apothecary using pestle and mortar to prepare drugs, 1823. From The Book of English Trades. (London, 1823). Hand-coloured woodcut

French grocer and druggist. In foreground a boy uses pestle and mortar to grind ingredients. In right background, balance for weighing goods hangs over counter. After 16th century print

The Druggist. 16th century woodcut by Jost Amman. Druggist is using pestle and mortar to grind ingredients

16th Century Medicine Jars and Pestle and Mortar A. D
16th Century Medicine Jars and Pestle and Mortar Warwickshire

Pine nuts, grated parmesan cheese and green basil leaves in stone pestle with mortar, elevated view

Using pestle to break hardened caramel into shards

Pink Pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), whole red berries in bowl and crushed in pestle

Pasta products and ingredients, including bag of durum wheat, jar of tagliatelle, block of parmesan cheese, bowl of eggs, pestle and mortar, cup of basil leaves

Using pestle in sieve to grind spices with ginger and water

Making pesto by hand, using a pestle and mortar, with the garlic and salt being pounded in close-up

Kneading pasta dough on a marble board beside a rolling pin, jar of olive oil and a pestle and mortar

Preparing parsley and butter coating in bowl, using pestle, close-up

Stoneware pestle and mortar with salts flowing from the mortar

Using pestle and mortar to grind seeds, blurred motion

Muesli mixture being ground in white ceramic mortar surrounded by bowls and jars containing cereals, fruit and pumpkin seeds on kitchen work surface

Allium sativum, Garlic, dried heads and cloves, crushed by pestle in mortar

Fresh herbs and flowers in a wicker basket, chopped herbs on a cutting board, test tubes filled with seeds, mortar containing pine kernels and basil, herbs and peppercorns and a plait of garlic

Pestle and mortar, mixture of curry ingredients inside

Using pestle to pound basil leaves and garlic in mortar, blurred motion

Medicinal plants, conceptual image F007 / 7563
Medicinal plants, conceptual image

Medicinal plants, conceptual image F007 / 7562
Medicinal plants, conceptual image

Herbs in a mortar and pestle F007 / 7576
Herbs in a mortar and pestle

Italian poetry frontispiece, 18th century
Italian poetry frontispiece. 18th-century frontispiece artwork for a book of Italian poetry. The scene shows a goddess-like muse figure advising a seated scholar or poet in front of a monkey using a

Chalcolithic Basalt pedestalled bowl
A Chalcolithic (Copper age) Basalt pedestalled bowl with pestle. 4th Millennium BCE

Chemistry laboratory, 19th century
Chemistry laboratory, 19th-century artwork. At right is a workbench with bellows at which a chemist is working below a large skylight

Wood engraving, early 19th century
AMERICAN PHARMACY. Wood engraving, early 19th century

A veterinarian preparing horse medicine in a mortar. Woodcut, 1584, by Jost Amman
HORSE & VETERINARIAN. A veterinarian preparing horse medicine in a mortar. Woodcut, 1584, by Jost Amman

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"Pestle: Uniting Cultures, Traditions, and Remedies" Step into the mystical world of Baba Yaga's Hut, where ancient potions are brewed in a pestle. This enchanting tool has transcended time and continents, leaving its mark on history. In 1827, The Chemist introduced the pestle as an essential instrument for grinding herbs and creating powerful concoctions. Its significance grew even further when The Blackville Medical Man diagnosed Difflomania with the help of this trusty companion. Travel back to the 19th century tea ceremonies with Kubo Shunman's Set of Utensils for the Tea Ceremony. Amongst delicate teacups and serene surroundings, a pestle stands tall as it grinds tea leaves into perfection. Silent stillness engulfs laboratories like that portrayed by Warner Baxter in The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936). Dr. Samuel Mudd relies on his pestle to mix life-saving medicines amidst chaos. Venture into a C16 Chemist's Shop where shelves overflow with mysterious ingredients waiting to be transformed by skilled hands wielding a pestle, and is here that alchemy becomes reality. From Chennai to Guam, Sierra Leone to Italy's Liguria region - witness diverse cultures united by their use of the mortar and large pestles. Whether pounding rice or preparing Genovese Pesto during cooking courses, these communities embrace this timeless tool as an integral part of their culinary traditions. Even within art itself, we find evidence of its importance. In Saint-John's Hospital Pharmacy painting, every brushstroke captures the essence of healing through meticulously ground remedies using a trusty wooden pestle. The story behind each stroke is etched deep within history - from ancient rituals performed by Chamorro people in Guam to bustling markets in West Africa where husking rice requires skillful handling of mortar and pestles.