Solid Brass Mortar and Pestle - age?

I have had this mortar and pestle for many years. Recently I began to work in pharmacy and became interested in more information on this item. I was pretty sure it belonged to my Grandfather in Norway and do not remember it ever not being in the family. I am attempting to stimulate my Mom's memory on this but in the meantime would like to have an idea of it's age. I am leaning toward somewhere in the 1800s.

 

Hello JLind, welcome to the forum.
Your mortar and pestle are gorgeous and look convincing to me. But you will need to post more pictures, and click on the full image button. Here is how:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/posting-a-thread-and-uploading-pictures.15990/
Good luck.

 

Thank you I hope I successfully changed the image.

 

It's definitely old, but how old...dunno. The casting is really nice and the metal color tells me it's been around a while. What does the bottom look like? Even with no marks, the way it was made might tell someone something.

 

Looking inside the mortar

 

It looks to me like I have done something wrong. I see multiple copies of some of the photos. woops, don't know how to fix that.

 

Looks like I may have figured out how to fix the problem.

 

Apothecary pestle shape.

 

Really? So this means it is likely to have been used as apothecary rather than domestic use? Very interesting as I am not aware of anyone in the family line with this profession.

 

The shape is apothecary, but that doesn't mean it was use by one. It might be a later copy or it might have been for home medicine preparation.

 

Size matters

 

It's an apothecary-mortar & pestle style, that much I agree on, but that doesn't mean it was necessarily used in an apothecary. It might've been, it might not. I have a few of these at home which are of a similar style.

 

Agree. I have one that came down through the family, it was used in the kitchen.

 

A mortar and pestle is a mortar and pestle. Yes there are several styles. Yes, various styles are associated with various regions of the world, or various professions, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. After all, it's what you put inside it and what you use it for. And that could be absolutely anything.

This particular style, with the handles, the double-ended pestle, the tall, cylindrical shape, is usually sold as an apothecary style, and who knows. Maybe it was used in an apothecary, but there'd be no way to prove it for certain without knowing every bit of its history, and unfortunately they're such generic objects that that'd be impossible to prove definitively.

Is it old? Yes, I think it is.

How old? I wouldn't know. The same styles were made for centuries. In my experience of seeing loads of these online, and handling quite a few in person, I'd say it was manufactured out of blocks of brass which were spun on a lathe, to achieve the uniform, symmetrical shape.

My guess - and it is only a guess - is that it's Victorian. But that's anywhere from 1830-1900. It could be older than that, but I wouldn't venture to guess how much more.

If you want to bill it as an apothecary mortar and pestle, I see no reason why you couldn't.