Mortar and pestle. England, 17th-18th century

Mortar and pestle. England, 17th-18th century.
Circular turned lignum vitae, with ring turned molded details.
Measurements: 35 x 29 x 29 cm.

These prized mortars were used in domestic settings or in the apothecary. In "Treen for the Table - Wooden Objects Related to Eating and Drinking" (Antique Collectors Club, 1998), Jonathan Levi states, "Guaiacum, because of its hardness and dense grain, became the wood of choice for mortars when importation began in the late 16th and early 17th centuries." Guayacan is the common name given to several species of trees native to the Americas. They may also be called palo santo or palo de hierro, names that are applied generically to a wide variety of tropical hardwoods from the Americas. Its wood is known in English by the Latin name of lignum vitae (tree of life). According to Edward H. Pinto, when lignum vitae was used in an apothecary, its "imaginary medicinal qualities" were supposed to benefit the resulting mixture ( Treen and Other Wooden Bygones , Bell & Hyman Limited, London, 1979, p. 182).