Museum Quality Travel Pharmacy. Presumably Augsburg. 2nd half 17th C. The silver is partially marked Augsburg 1680-85, Matthäus Baur II. Photo Van Ham

Polished burr poplar, ornamental openwork and engraved fittings, original red silk lining and silver dividers, sheet silver fittings and buttons. Starkly rectangular form with two doors at the front and a hinged lid with a handle. When opened, the front displays 21 small drawers. The upper part contains 26 small compartments which in turn hold a lidded jar, a funnel, pestle and mortar, seven screw-top vessels, an iron grater, as well as one large and 12 small screw-top bottles. The large, central drawer contains a silver spatula, a pair of scissors (iron, partially gilt), an iron knife with a gilt screw-on handle and a silver gilt dispensing spoon. Beneath these can be found: A set of scales with gilt weighing bowls, four small silver screw-top jars and an iron measuring cup. The bottom drawer contains 12 small glass vessels. The bottom six drawers contain a total of 24 wooden powder jars with sliding covers and ivory pommels. The backs of the other 12 drawers are all marked with their contents. 23,5x29,3x22cm. Condition B. The blood letting dish and ruby glasses are missing. 
Zigzag assay marks on the cup, funnel, mortar and 7 of the screw-top vessels. Augsburg mark for 1680-85 (Seling Nr.132), maker's mark MB for Matthäus Baur II. (Seling Nr.1776; Rosenberg Nr.711). Estimation : 38 000 / 40 000 €

Literature: Marc Rosenberg. Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen, Band 1. Frankfurt 1922. For this master, see Nr.711. 
Helmut Seling. Die Kunst der Augsburger Goldschmiede 1529-1868, 3 Bände. München 1980. 
For these master's and town marks, see vol.3, Nr. 132 and 1776. For this type, see vol.2 figs. 244 and 948-949. 
Elisabeth Huwer. Das Deutsche Apothekenmuseum. Regensburg 2008. For this type, see pg.203, fig.254. 

In connection with Matthäus Baur, Marc Rosenberg mentions a gilded house pharmacy with ruby glasses, with the provenance 1884 Roderich Freiherr von Walterskirchen, Vienna.

So called house or travel pharmacies were particularly popular from the 17th to the 19th century. They were equipped with the necessary ingredients by pharmacists and could then be used by travellers to provide first aid for various illnesses.
Several opulent travel pharmacies have survived from the 17th century, which can be found in various museums. These objects were created through the cooperation of different kinds of craftsmen, for example goldsmiths, glassmakers and boxmakers, which enabled the production of all the objects in the different materials required.

Van Ham. Samedi 17 novembre 2012. Schönhauser Str. 10-16, 50968 Cologne. Tel.  +49 221 92 58 62-4.