Mortar Opus Sebastiano Broili Utini, 1842

Mortar entirely in bronze made by "OPUS SEBASTIANI BROILI UTINI" in 1842.

This important family of foundries operated in the city of Udine (Italy).

After 1842 Sebastiani Broili was a partner in the Udine foundry with Giovanni Battista De Poli, another renowned Venetian master foundryman, with whom in 1852 he created a bell for the Cathedral of Udine.

The mortar is finely and richly decorated with festoons, acanthus leaves and typically neoclassical images.

It is equipped with two handles which are obviously part of the single fusion.

This particular type of bronze mortars, made with the lost wax casting technique, were intended for pharmaceutical use.

In fact, inside them various raw materials were chopped and triturated with special bronze or wooden pestles until they were reduced to powder and then used, mixed with others or alone for pharmaceutical purposes.

Its dimensions are:

Height: 29cm

Width at the handles: 37 cm

Mouth diameter: 30 cm

Base diameter 16 cm

Original untouched period patina.

Reference Bibliography:

Giorgio Lise, “Ancient pharmacy mortars”, 1975 Silvana editorial art, Milan.

Ulrich Middeldorf, “Fifty Mortars 15th -18th Century”, 1981 Florence.