A late 18th or early 19th century boxwood pill silverer on a pedestal with a lovely patina.

Apothecaries having fashioned their pills would coat them with silver by placing them in these containers with a silver powder. Gently rolling the pills within the sealed sphere with a gum resin would cover them, ready for bottling. This is an excellent example in remarkable condition. The thread is intact and the lid opens and closes smoothly. There is a similar example on plate X1V in Elisabeth Bennion’s “Antique Medical Instruments”.

• From the Phisick collection