Mortar. Spain, 18th century.

Mortar. Spain, XVIII century.
Bronze.
Preserves mace.
Presents marks of use and wear.
Measurements: 6 x 11 x 11 cm (mortar); 16 cm. length (mallet).
Mortar made of bronze, dated to the late Baroque period, with its hammer. The typology with protruding moldings, called "ribbed", is combined with the representation of scallops in relief. In ancient recipe books there are many recipes based on the use of the mortar, a tool that is hardly used nowadays, although it was so varied in its use in the past that every kitchen had a great variety of them, from the larger ones for pounding meats and vegetables to the smaller ones for grinding spices. Already in antiquity there were large mortars, made of bronze to grind and mix marble or lime, which were used to make construction binders or plasters, such as stucco. The Roman poet Juvenal named it in articles for the preparation of drugs, reflecting the early use of this instrument in apothecaries. The antiquity of mortars is also well documented in some works of ancient literature, such as the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, dating from 1550 B.C., which is considered one of the oldest documents on medicine in ancient Egypt. It is also mentioned in the Old Testament.