An unusual antique treen pill silverer with the added addition of the base being concave this could have been for shaping the pills, rather than using a separate pill rounder. Turned from boxwood with a threaded lid. Remnants of the old Shepherd collection label to the base. It measures approx 9cm h.
Pill silverers were used once the pills had been formed and dried, they were dampened with mucilage of accia and mixed with silver leaf. The spherical pill silverer was then shaken in a rotary movement until all the pills were coated in silver. C1850