BALS VITAE HOFFM

18th century

This blown and molded bottle has a baked enamel which reads <i>BALS VITAE HOFFM</i>. The bottle would have contained Hoffman’s Balsam of Life, a tincture from the balsam of Peru (myroxylon pereirae) and other aromatics synthesized by the German physician Friedrich Hoffman during the 18th century. The Balsam of Life would have been used as a liniment for treating wounds.