Description
Tonneau de médecin "Tabib matarasi"
Ottoman Empire, 19th century Wooden barrel-shaped flask resting on a rectangular foot, decorated with nail heads and gilded brass medallions featuring a double-headed eagle. The top has been replaced by a spout. 15 x 20 x 25 cm In Ottoman times, these water barrels or "doctor's barrels" were used by doctors to administer "sharbat", a drink made from zamzam water (the well in the sanctuary of Mecca's Kaaba) to severely wounded soldiers whose outcome was fatal. The expression "drinking the liquor of the dying", used in Turkish culture, derives from this practice. A similar example can be found at the Galata Mevlevihanesi Müzesi in Istanbul. A wooden medical barrel, Ottoman Empire, 19th century
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