Featured in this lost is an antique cast-iron apothecary mortar & pestle. The mortar and pestle can trace its origin back to the Stone Age. Early civilizations also used mortars and pestles in the field of medicine, as first documented by the Egyptians around 1500 B.C. A two-part tool, the mortar is the bowl-shaped part of the pair where the food is placed. The cast iron era began around the mid 19th century time of the US Civil War. Both items have the number 2 stamped on them; both have nicks and indentations commensurate with normal use. The pestle measures 6.75" H x 1.5" W approximately; the mortar measures 4" H x 4.25" mouth x 3.25" base approximately.