On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Pill-Tile

ca. 1770-1780 (made)
Artist/Maker
Lambeth High Street Pottery (manufacturer)
Griffith, Abigail (producer)
Place of origin
Lambeth High Street (made)

Pill-tile of tin-glazed earthenware. Decorated with the arms of the Apothecaries Society (see number (3835-1901) for details) in blue with the inscription: OPIFERQUE PER. ORBEM. DICOR in dark manganese-purple.
Body colour: Buff.
Glaze: Bluish white.
Shape: Two holes for suspension pierced through the upper part before glazing. Edge slightly chamfered.

Object details

Categories
Delftware
Ceramics
Images Online
Health
Object type
Pill-tile
Materials and techniques
Tin-glazed earthenware, painted
Tin Glaze
Earthenware
Glazed
Painted
Brief description
Pill-tile of tin-glazed earthenware, decorated with the arms of the Apothecaries' Society in blue, Lambeth High Street pottery, London, ca. 1770-1780
Physical description
Pill-tile of tin-glazed earthenware. Decorated with the arms of the Apothecaries Society (see number (3835-1901) for details) in blue with the inscription: OPIFERQUE PER. ORBEM. DICOR in dark manganese-purple.
Body colour: Buff.
Glaze: Bluish white.
Shape: Two holes for suspension pierced through the upper part before glazing. Edge slightly chamfered.
Dimensions
  • Length: 30cm
  • Width: 24.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
'OPIFERQUE PER. ORBEM. DICOR.' (Inscribed in manganese purple)
Credit line
Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street
Object history
Acquired by the Museum of Practical Geology before 1871. Transferred, 1901.
Production
Abigail Griffith before and during her partnership with Thomas Morgan
Subject depicted
Coat of Arms
Bibliographic references
  • Archer, Michael. Delftware: the tin-glazed earthenware of the British Isles. A catalogue of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: HMSO, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1997. ISBN 0 11 290499 8
  • M.P.G. 1871, X. 14. M.P.G. 1876, Y. 6.
  • Massey, Roger. Later London delftware 1780-1810. English Ceramics Circle Transactions Volume 23, 2012, pp127-142, illustrated fig. 27, 135p. 'Pill slabs continued to be made during our period. Archeological evidence from Mortlake indicates that the distinctive foliage found on the Lunardi plates was also found on pill slabs from Mortlake. A pill slab is recorded with an etched date 1785.'
Other number
K15. - <u>Delftware</u> (1997) cat. no.
Collection
Ceramics Collection
Accession number
3834-1901

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Record createdJanuary 29, 2000
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O21374/pill-tile-griffith-abigail/
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