Before cocaine became synonymous with illicit narcotics, it was one of medicine's groundbreaking new discoveries.
In 1884, ophthalmologist Carl Koller demonstrated cocaine as a local anesthetic for eye surgery. Doctors could now perform delicate operations while numbing a specific area. Sigmund Freud, was a huge advocate of cocaine and wrote about it extensively throughout his career. It was an exciting and powerful new pharmaceutical for several decades before its dangers were discovered.
Morphine, cocaine, heroin and opium all passed through legitimate Western medicine, while arsenic appeared in everything from medicinal preparations to cosmetics and infamous poisons. Substances now associated with addiction, criminalization and danger were once encountered in the respectable world of physicians, pharmacists and apothecaries.
The porcelain itself is marked Limoges, France. Limoges is a celebrated porcelain-producing region in central France. Its rise began after deposits of kaolin, the white clay essential to true hard-paste porcelain, were discovered nearby in the 18th century. By around 1830, Limoges had overtaken Paris as France's principal center for privately manufactured porcelain.
Details
Origin: Limoges, France
Date: Mid-20th century
Material: Glazed porcelain with gilt decoration
Inscription: Cocaine
Features: Removable fitted lid with gilt finial; gilt rim and base; marked underside
Dimensions:Approx. 6.5 inch L × 3.5 inch W
Condition: Very good vintage condition. Please review photographs carefully.
