A Miniature Georgian Dram Or Tincture Glass c1750

Description

Heading : A Georgian dram glass or tincture glass
Period : George II – c1750
Origin : England 
Colour : Clear 
Bowl : Drawn trumpet
Stem : Plain 
Foot : Conical 
Pontil : Snapped 
Glass Type : Lead 
Size : 8 cm height. 4.5 cm diameter bowl. 5 cm diameter foot 
Condition : Excellent. no chips or cracks 
Restoration : None 
Weight: 61 grams 

Miniature glass are well documented throughout the 18th century. however finding one is a rare occurrence. Such glasses are often referred to as being for the purpose of taking “tinctures”  and herbal remedies made from the infusion of pretty much anything in strong alcohol. These contained all manner of exotica my personal favourite being one for gout that contained spermaceti namely the ear wax of a sperm whale. I thought ambergris was bad enough.

There are some tinctures worth trying such as “Aqua Mirablis”. Dr Johnson wrote that the ingredients were cardomon. cloves. cubeb ( peppercorns). cloves. ginger. mace. nutmeg and galangal soaked in spirit of wine. We tried this with polish spirit and poured the whole bottle  into a kilner jar and onto half an ounce each of all the dry ingredients and a whole peeled and chopped ginger root. This was agitated every day for ten days and then strained through muslin into a serving bottle.  May I say what a fine after dinner drink this made following a curry. The perfect “miracle water”