{"title":"The Sphero-Conical as Apothecary Vessel: An Argument for Dedicated Use","authors":"Courtney Lesoon","doi":"10.1163/22118993-00391p13","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n Sphero-conical vessels are ubiquitous in the archaeological record. However, their intended use has remained a conundrum. A multitude of conjectures have been proposed, such as that the sphero-conical vessel was a container for mercury, a grenade, a perfume sprinkler, an aeolipile, a beer gourd, a hookah pipe, and a plumb bob. Faced with a seemingly contradictory body of evidence, scholars have concluded that the sphero-conical vessel must have been a multi-use object. I disagree. This study offers a theory of dedicated use: the sphero-conical vessel was intended and produced to store pharmaceuticals, specifically apothecary compounds in personal-use dosages. My argument is built on a close analysis of material form, epigraphic evidence, decorative motifs, and representations of the sphero-conical vessel in other media. The re-inscribing of the sphero-conical vessel into a history of medicine as a tool of the robust Islamic pharmacological industry is rich with potential for furthering our understanding of medicine, apothecary, alchemy, apotropaia, and trade in the medieval Mediterranean.","PeriodicalId":39506,"journal":{"name":"Muqarnas","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2022-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Muqarnas","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22118993-00391p13","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"艺术学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ARCHITECTURE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Sphero-conical vessels are ubiquitous in the archaeological record. However, their intended use has remained a conundrum. A multitude of conjectures have been proposed, such as that the sphero-conical vessel was a container for mercury, a grenade, a perfume sprinkler, an aeolipile, a beer gourd, a hookah pipe, and a plumb bob. Faced with a seemingly contradictory body of evidence, scholars have concluded that the sphero-conical vessel must have been a multi-use object. I disagree. This study offers a theory of dedicated use: the sphero-conical vessel was intended and produced to store pharmaceuticals, specifically apothecary compounds in personal-use dosages. My argument is built on a close analysis of material form, epigraphic evidence, decorative motifs, and representations of the sphero-conical vessel in other media. The re-inscribing of the sphero-conical vessel into a history of medicine as a tool of the robust Islamic pharmacological industry is rich with potential for furthering our understanding of medicine, apothecary, alchemy, apotropaia, and trade in the medieval Mediterranean.