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DELFTWARE Apothecaryand 
              Hygiene -Related Wares 
Storage, Apothecary, Syrup, and Ointment Pots 
D409. OINTMENT POT 
Mortlake (near London) 
Mortlake 
1775-1800 
H.:1 1/2" (3.8 cm); 
Diam.: 2 3/8" (6 cm) 
BODY CLAY: Medium-grained buff. 
TIN GLAZE: Pale turquoise, somewhat 
runny and transparent. Overall, exclud- 
ing bottom. 
SHAPE: Thrown, Rough-textured, near- 
ly flat bottom. 
DECORATION: Painted. Inscribed 
"Poma[d]e Divine." 
Ex coll.: K. Hammitt. 
Lots from around 1775 to 1800 that closely match this one in shape, inscription,
and writing style have been excavated at Mortlake (see also no. D392, n.
10).' The 
label "Pomade Divine" hints at the fragrant scent or, perhaps,
the effectiveness of 
the vessels' contents, which may well have had as an ingredient bear fat
or bear 
grease, which was valued for its supposed ability to promote hair growth.
A 1765 
Public Advertiser announces that "A Bear [is] to be Slain ... at R.
Sangwine's, Per- 
fumer at the Sign of the Rose, Number 3, opposite to New Round Court in the
Strand, where Ladies or Gentlemen may have any quantity of fat they please
cut 
off the Bear's Back before their Face at 2s. an ounce ... after which Time
[three 
days] it will be melted and put into Pots for Sale."' 
   Small dispensing pots (sometimes referred to as unguent pots) of various
proportions were made in quantity during the late 1700s and typically were
left 
in the white. Inscribed examples name the vessel's contents (as on the Longridge
pot) less often than the distributer of the product. Well-known examples
of the 
latter type include pots inscribed "T Singleton Lambeth Butts"
(or, alternatively, 
"W" or "Win Singleton Lambeth Butts") for Thomas or his
son William Single- 
ton, who provided the very popular Singleton's Golden Eye Ointment. Wasters
of such pots have been found at Vauxhall and Mortlake.' Other examples name
London shop owners: "DELESCOT" was active at 19 Duke Street, Pall
Mall, 
around 1749, the year he patented his Conserve of Myrtle Opiate; Jacob "Hemet,"
grandson of George II's "Operator for the Teeth," patented (1773)
Essence of 
Pearl and Pearl Dentifrice and had a premises in Haymarket; "GROVESNOR/HOL-
BORN" refers to perfumer J. Grovesnor, who kept shop in Holborn from
the 
1770s to around 1810.' 
1. )rev. Apothecary Jars, p. 224ý Stephenson 
comments fSeptemrber 1998). 
2. Ltothian, Apothecarv Vessels,1 p. 9. citing togli( 
Adveh'tiser (London), January 7, 1765. 
3. Archer, V&A, no. J.31: Brition, London, 
nos. 172 173.; Cockell, ViUxh~all Cross. pl. 141c. 
4. For l)elescot, see Austin, Djelft, no. 425, ind 
Brit ton, London, no. 179: for I lemet, no. 177. For 
Grovesnor, see Crellin, Wellcome, no. 180. For 
these ind fother inscriptions on 8 "lngo irt pots" 
and a history of the lfrto, see ILothian, Apolhe- 
cary Vessels, pp. 7 9. nos. 44a- 461. 
The Longridge Collection 4S7 
Actual size