COCHLEAR

Unknown artist

This blown and molded wide-mouth jar has a white oval baked enamel label that is surrounded by a blue ribbon and topped with a golden crown. The jar is marked <i>COCHLEAR</i> with the alchemical symbol for spirits above. This jar would have contained Spiritus Cochlearia, or Spirits of Cochlearia. Cochlearia, or scurvygrass, would have been steeped in alcohol to create a spirit solution. As the name scurvygrass would imply, the solution was used as an antiscorbutic to combat and prevent scurvy as well as a diuretic and an aperient, a mild laxative.