TWO GEORGE III FRUITWOOD MORTARS, ONE WITH FRUITWOOD PESTLE

Left to Right :

Left : c1800, 6.75" High x 4.5" Wide / Pestle 9" Long, #6199 - 300.00

Right : c1800, 6.75" High x 5.5" Wide, #6200 - 225.00

The mortar and pestle has been used for grinding food and medicines since the early Egyptian period.  They date to the earliest shamans and medicine men among most cultures.  The tools were mentioned in the “Elers Papyrus” of 1550 BC (the oldest preserved piece of medical literature) and in the Old Testament.  Their names derive from Latin, mortar from mortarium, meaning, among other usages, "receptacle for pounding" and "product of grinding or pounding"; and pestle from pistillum, meaning "pounder", leading to English pestle.  The mortar and pestle remains today the iconic symbol for medical prescriptions.

Condition : Left example with shrinkage cracks to the bowl due to the thickness of the wood, and normal erosion to pestle.

The right with no condition issues.

Provenance : David H. Wilson, Teaneck NJ

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Two George III Fruitwood Mortars, one with Fruitwood Pestle, England, c1800