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Glass bottle used for tincture of belladonna, England, 1880-
- Science Museum, London
- Digital Images
- Online
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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
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Credit: Glass bottle used for tincture of belladonna, England, 1880-. Science Museum, London. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
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Description
Belladonna or Deadly Nightshade is a plant whose name suggests it is poisonous. However, the roots and leaves have medicinal qualities – the leaves are a narcotic to induce sleep, and can be used as a diuretic and as a muscle relaxant. The roots and leaves were also used for plasters to relieve aches and pains. The cobalt blue coloured glass was blown with a ridged design. It is thought that poison bottles had distinctive textures and colours so they could easily be identified by touch and by sight.
A tincture is an alcoholic solution of a medicine.
maker: Unknown maker
Place made: England, United Kingdom