Dominican Mortar and Pestle: "Pilon"
Collection: Commercial Connections
Object Category: Household Tools and Utensils, Food-Related Objects
Object Type: Spice Grinders
Country: Dominican Republic
Continent: North America
Geographic Region: Caribbean
Materials: Wood
height: 8 in;
A mortar is a bowl shaped container made of a hard wood, marble, pottery, or stone. The pestle is a bat shaped tool that is used to grind inside the mortar and pulverize grains, herbs, and other food substances as well as medicines. Italian frescoes of the 15th Century show mortars and mestles in use by ancient pharmacists. The "molcajete, or Mexican version of the mortar and pestle, appears in Mexican pre-history.
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