SPEC DIATART M

17th-18th century

This blown and molded square–shaped glass bottle has a narrow neck and rounded shoulders. Its white baked enamel label is framed by a baroque–style blue and yellow cartouche. The label reads <i>SPEC DIATART M</i> in black text, with the first initial of each word in red. The jar would have contained Species Diatartari Mynsichti.” Adrian von Mynsicht (1603–1638) was a German alchemist who introduced tartar emetic into medical practice. “Species” refers to a powder often used in teas. This medicine would have been a tea made from the cream of tartar using Mynsicht’s formulation. The tea was used as a cathartic to speed bowel movement and an antiscorbutic to combat scurvy.