Pestle Collection (#4)

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

American typefounders cut of pharmaceutical tools and cherubs, 19th century
PHARMACEUTICAL TOOLS. American typefounders cut of pharmaceutical tools and cherubs, 19th century

American typefounders cut for a pharmacists business card, 19th century
MORTISED CUT, 19th CENTURY. American typefounders cut for a pharmacists business card, 19th century

Wood engraving, American, early 19th century
APOTHECARY, 19th CENTURY. Wood engraving, American, early 19th century

COOKING UTENSILS, 1643. Line engraving, Venice, 1643

YOUNG CHEMISTS. Wood engraving, American, c1840

Senegal - Food Preparation
Preparation of butter and the cooking and grinding of nuts in a Senegalese village Date: circa 1910s

Preparation of Palm Oil - Sierra Leone Date: circa 1904

Senegal, West Africa - preparing couscous
A Senegalese woman crushing chickpeas to make couscous using a huge pestle and mortar and a young man from the Ouoloff tribe, Senegal. Date: circa 1903

Preparation of ozone, 19th century
Preparation of ozone. Artwork from the tenth volume (second period of 1892) of the French popular science weekly La Science Illustree

18th century pharmacopoeia, title page
18th century pharmacopoeia. Title page for a book providing directions for the preparations of drugs (a pharmacopoeia), published in France in 1742

Herbal medicine, 10th century
Herbal medicine. 10th-century manuscript page showing Greek text over an artwork of a healer preparing a herbal remedy. The healer is grinding plants in a mortar

Italian apothecary, 18th century
Italian apothecary. 18th-century artwork showing the interior of an apothecarys shop in Italy. An apothecary was the equivalent of a modern pharmacist, dealing in remedies based on herbal medicine

Pharmacology proverb, 16th century
Pharmacology proverb. 16th-century artwork of a man smelling his finger while preparing a herbal remedy using a pestle and mortar

CHEYENNE WOMAN, 1890s. Using a stone mortar and pestle, a Cheyenne woman prepares wild cherries, pits and all, for the making of pemmican. Oil over a photograph, c1890s

Coin marked James Hallett-Curer of All Diseases
Illustration showing the design for a coin marked " James Hallett-Curer of All Diseases", 1795. HPG/8/6/2"

American Indians. The Red Indian on show at Earls Court. M
A native American and his wife pounding corn in a large pestle and mortar

Cloves of garlic
Garlic cloves ( Allium sativum ) next to apestle and mortar

Justus Liebig / 3 of 6
JUSTUS VON LIEBIG German scientist is given his own laboratory at Giessen University

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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.