Pill slab
Category
Ceramics
Date
1690 - 1710
Materials
Delftware
Measurements
315 x 262 x 19 mm
Order this imageCollection
Uppark House and Garden, West Sussex
NT 137403
Summary
Pill slab or pill-tile, tin-glazed earthenware (delftware), cartouche shape, pierced for suspension, painted in cobalt oxide, made in London about 1690-1710.
Full description
Pill slab or pill-tile, tin-glazed earthenware (delftware), cartouche shape, pierced for suspension, painted in cobalt oxide with the arms of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. Made in London, about 1690-1710. Decorated with the arms of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, depicting the figure of Apollo standing over a serpent with a bow and arrow in each hand flanked by unicorns in gold. The top crest depicts a rhinoceros, and the bottom reads 'OPIFER Q VE PER ORBEM DICOR' which means "I am called the help bringer throughout the world." Below is an oval cartouche with the arms of the City of London, a cross gules, in the first quarter of a sword of the second. The Worshipful Society of the Art and Mystery of the Apothecaries was established in London under a Royal Charter in 1617. Membership of this professional guild was only for those with the relevant training, pill slabs like this would have demonstrated the quality of service that the apothecary could provide to their patients. Pills, formed from a powdered form of the relevant ingredients were often batch-made in small quantities, often in front of the patient on slabs such as these. English 'delftware' was created in response to the imported tin-glazed ceramics made in Delft, Netherlands, from the 16th century onwards. This pill slab was made in London, one of the main places of 'delftware' production along with Bristol and Liverpool. It was probably acquired by the Fetherstonhaugh family at Uppark in the 19th century as an antique, rather than bought at the time of production. Comparable examples: Victoria and Albert Museum, 3835-1901, acquired pre 1871, and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Glaisher Collection, C.1316-1928. Further reading: Archer, Michael. Delftware: the tin-glazed earthenware of the British Isles. A catalogue of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: HMSO, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1997. ISBN 0 11 290499 8.Massey, Roger. Later London delftware 1780-1810. English Ceramics Circle Transactions Volume 23, 2012, pp127-142.
Marks and inscriptions
OPIFER Q VE PER ORBEM DICOR (motto painted on front)