Description:
English delft cylindrical gallipot, storage jar, or drug jar with blue decoration, which jar descended in the family of Dr. Thomas Williams (1718-1775 of Deerfield. Made through the 17th and 18th centuries, gallipots, which are simple cylindrical jars often with geometric designs, were used extensively for medical preparations before labeled drug jars began to appear. Although associated with doctors and apothecaries until the late 18th century, they were ideal general-purpose storage containers for such items as groceries and pigments, and are frequently mentioned in 17th and 18th century cooking and receipt books. The jar has an everted rim, which could be covered with parchment secured with a string. The jar, which has curved indents below the everted rim and above the flat base, is decorated with two blue bands, over a row of solid blue circles, over two blue bands, over a oval chain pattern, over five blue bands. Similar gallipot fragments have been found in excavations in London and throughout the colonies, including Virginia, Middletown, Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts. A “gallipot” was listed among the household possessions in the inventory of Thomas Wells (1652-1691) of Deerfield.
Tags:
medicine Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+65.180 |
