Antique Handblown Cobalt Blue Glass Sputum.

This relic of an earlier contagious disease is a piece of history from the 1860’s. The pandemic then was tuberculosis.

By the beginning of the 19th century,

tuberculosis, or "consumption," had killed

one in seven of all people that had ever

lived. Victims suffered from hacking, bloody

coughs, debilitating pain in their lungs, and

fatigue.

Sputum bottles were used by people suffering from tuberculosis to cough sputum into. The foul-smelling sputum contains the bacteria responsible for causing the disease. Contact with sputum, coughed up from the lungs, could spread the disease. The blue glass bottle would have been cleaned and disinfected after use.

In this, the time of COVID, this relic is a reminder that we can face and overcome if not cure, pandemics. Some may find this item a little macabre but I find it to be not only beautifully made and lovely to look at but also a reminder of human triumph over disease.

Please let me know if you have any questions.