ESS VINCKTOX

18th century

This blown and molded square shaped glass bottle has a skinny neck and flared lip. The bottle has a baked white enamel label framed in blue and red, and is surrounded by a gold and brown escutcheon with a crown sitting at the top. The label reads “ESS VINCKTOX” in black text, with the first initial of each word in red. This bottle would have contained Essence of Vincetoxicum. <i>Vincetoxicum officinal</i>, or root of swallow wort, was the main ingredient in this essence, and was prescribed as a diuretic, emmenagogue, or diaphoretic.