POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Storage jar 'Honey'

Storage jar 'Honey'

Object No. A8636-1

Storage jar, 'Honey', ceramic / gilt, maker unknown, England, 1875-1899

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Summary

Physical Description

Ceramic storage jar of inverted baluster shape with inverted base and tiered foot. The neck rim of the jar is overhanging and with twin handles at the shoulders. The jar has a white background and is painted green in some areas with scrolls and floral design with gilt hilights. Handles are cream in colour with gilt detailing. Gilt lettering on the central scrolls reads "Honey".

DIMENSIONS

Height

293 mm

Diameter

283 mm

HISTORY

Notes

This jar was used in the Woolwich Pharmacy in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Large storage jars for leeches, honey and tamarinds were a feature of pharmacies in the 18th and 19th centuries, increasing over this period of time in their elegance of their design and the richness of their ornamentation. By the late 19th Century their decorative and advertising purpose would have outweighed their practical function. As well as being used by pharmacists in their medications, honey and tamarind could both be purchased over-the-counter for home-made concoctions.

SOURCE

Acquisition Date

9 August 1980

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