Materia medica in the seventeenth-century Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo

Rolfe, W. D. Ian

doi:10.1144/sp375.3

Cited by 3 publications

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“…The volume was soon translated into English by John Frampton (Monardes 1577). Lapis Nephriticus was described by Monardes as being carved into different shapes by the native Americans, and worn as amulets for relief of the symptoms of bladder and kidney stones (see also Rolfe 2012). Monardes described how wearing the stone harnessed its 'hidden virtue', causing bladder stones to break so that they could be safely and relatively painlessly voided from the urethra as sandy particles (Monardes 1577, unpaginated).…”

Section: Lapis Nephriticusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Some early eighteenth century geological Materia Medica

Duffin

2013

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The transition from the late seventeenth to the early eighteenth century represented an interesting time in the development of the Materia Medica, with the traditional 'Galenical' approach being progressively replaced by the 'Chymical' approach, a necessary precursor to modern pharmacology. Four surviving complete and partial Materia Medica cabinets belonging to Sir Hans Sloane, John Vigani, John Addenbrooke and William Heberden form the focus for a consideration of changing practices in the medicinal use of geological materials over this period. The working and teaching cabinets contain both processed and unprocessed specimens of geological simples. Of these, some were waning in popularity (e.g. nephrite jade, Irish slate, pyrite and garnets, jet and cannel coal), others were hardly ever used (e.g. belemnites, echinoid spines, Goa Stone, hematite and aetites), whilst others still continued to be popular, either in raw or processed form (e.g. amber, cinnabar, selenite and Terra Sigillata). The collections, considered in the context of contemporary literature, provide a unique insight into this dynamic period in the history of pharmacy.

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Section: Lapis Nephriticusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Some early eighteenth century geological Materia Medica

Duffin

2013

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2018 Isis Current Bibliography

2018

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Earth science as a philosophical background to medicine: an essay based on the autobiography of Dr Otto Sperling (1602–81)

Hoch

2017

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Earth science was not taught in schools in the seventeenth century. Geology began in principle with Steno's Prodromus of 1669, which reflected tendencies in the European curiosity about nature, but had little contemporary impact. As a child in busy Protestant Hamburg, Otto Sperling was influenced by Renaissance ideas in the early 1600s and investigated plants with his family's encouragement; he continued in pharmacy and later in medicine in Leiden. As a student he visited the relatively strong medicine milieu in Copenhagen and had the opportunity to sail as a participant in King Christian IV's official visit to Bergen. Venturing into southern Norway's mountainous landscapes, he studied plants, animals and rocks. Sperling's nature studies continued on journeys in northern and southern Europe and he graduated as Doctor medicinae in Padova in 1627. En route towards England, his ship was driven to Norway, where the locals persuaded him to settle as a physician. An encounter with the Danish nobleman Corfitz Ulfeldt (1606–64) took Sperling to some of the highest medical posts and later, during Denmark–Norway's decline, dragged him into the political maelstrom. Sperling's autobiography, written in his late sixties in a Copenhagen prison, is testimony to the importance of Earth science to Sperling's philosophy and performance as a doctor.

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Materia medica in the seventeenth-century Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo

Abstract: The Paper Museum comprises c. 10 000 drawings and prints, most of which are in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. When viewed in their seventeenth-century context, 25 of these drawings depict 'geological' material that also served as materia medica:

Cited by 3 publications

References 54 publications

Some early eighteenth century geological Materia Medica

Some early eighteenth century geological Materia Medica

2018 Isis Current Bibliography

Earth science as a philosophical background to medicine: an essay based on the autobiography of Dr Otto Sperling (1602–81)

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