Turned lignum vitae mortar and pestle

Turned lignum vitae mortar and pestle.

ENGLAND, CIRCA 1750.

Of tapered form, with turned ring decoration beneath the rim and to the foot.

Such small mortars were used in domestic settings or in the apothecary. In ‘Treen for the Table’, Jonathan Levi says ‘Lignum vitae, because of its hardness and dense grain, became the wood of choice for mortars when importation started in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.’ (‘Treen for the Table - Wooden Objects Related to Eating and Drinking’, Jonathan Levi in Consultation with Robert Young p. 110). According to Pinto when used in an apothecary lignum vitae’s ‘imaginary medicinal qualities were supposed to benefit the mixture compounded.’ (Edward H. Pinto,‘Treen and Other Wooden Bygones’, Bell & Hyman Limited, London, 1979 p.182).

Bibliography:
Jonathan Levi, ‘Treen for the Table Wooden Objects Related to Eating and Drinking’, (Antique Collectors’ Club 1998).
Edward H. Pinto, ‘Salts and Condiments’ in ‘Treen and Other Wooden Bygones’ (Bell & Hyman Limited, London, 1979).

Dimensions

Price on application

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

Stock number