Novelty opium apothecary jar owned by Hazel Scott

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A novelty apothecary jar with “opium” label owned by Hazel Scott. The jar (a) and its accompanying lid (b) are painted porcelain. The porcelain apothecary jar has a cylindrical body with an embossed ring at the shoulder and a footed base that have been accented with painted gold leaf bands. Painted just below the shoulder is a large blue banner with painted black text that reads [OPiUM]. Painted directly below the banner is a floral wreath design with a large pink and yellow rose at the center that is bookended by sprigs of three, small, five petal, orange and yellow flowers on one side, and three, blue, cup-shaped flowers with yellow stems on the other, accented with green leaves of varying sizes and shapes. The rest of the apothecary jar’s exterior is plain cream in color and the interior is plain. Handwritten brown text on the bottom of the apothecary jar reads [P.

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