National Museum of American History
LAPIS SMIRID
1790-1810
This jar is marked "LAPIS SMIRID". The word Lapis in Latin means stone. Lapis was often used for renal disorders including kidney stones. Pharmaceutical historian George Urdang attributes the containers 1991.0664.0760 through 1991.0664.0825 to Hanau in the late 18th century based on the floral design surrounding the medallion and the initials "HN" on the bottom of many of the jars in the series. However, in a letter to museum curators dated August 1983, pharmaceutical historian Wolfgang-Hagen Hein wrote that the unmarked containers and those marked "FH" were made in Florsheim in the German state of Hesse.
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