This is a gorgeous early 20th-century hand-blown amber glass apothecary or pharmacy bottle originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It features its original lithographed paper label from the prestigious Droguería Suizo Argentina, showing its historic distribution network across Rosario, Mendoza, Tucumán, and La Plata. The hand-stamped label indicates it once held 250 grams of Cardamomo Semilla Polvo (Cardamom Seed Powder), a prized botanical historically used for digestive aid, aromatic formulations, and pharmaceutical compounds.
What makes this piece truly exceptional for collectors is the juxtaposition of its timeline: while the label firmly places its distribution between 1927 and 1934, the bottle itself was crafted using traditional 19th-century techniques. Blown into a turn-mold (or paste-mold) to eliminate seam lines, it exhibits beautiful "orange-peel" texture, embedded gas bubbles ("seeds"), and a custom ground-glass stopper. This is a rare, highly displayable piece of historic South American pharmaceutical ephemera, perfect for antique pharmacy displays, medical historians, or curio cabinets.
Date: c. 1927-1934
Period: Art Deco / Interwar Era
Country of Origin: Argentina
Artist/Maker/Manufacturer: Droguería Suizo Argentina S.A.
Attribution: Authentic period piece with original corporate branding.
Marks/Signatures/Label: Original paper label reads:
"Droguería Suizo Argentina S.A.
Av. Rivadavia 2284 - Buenos Aires
Sucursales en: Rosario - Mendoza - Tucumán - La Plata
250 Grs. CARDAMOMO SEMILLA POLVO
Oscar P. Baglione Farmacéutico"
Size Classification: Medium Cabinet Bottle
Dimensions: 6 5/8" tall (includes inserted stopper) x 3" in diameter
Weight: 1 lb. 2 oz.
Materials: Hand-blown Amber Glass, Ground Glass, Paper
Technique: Turn-molded (seamless) hand-blown glass; individually ground glass stopper seal; lithographed and hand-stamped label.
Features: Ground-glass stopper, embedded air bubbles (glass seeds), artisanal mold texture, complete commercial distribution label.
Colors: Rich Amber, Ochre/Olive Green (label)
Pattern: Art Nouveau, Early Art Deco botanical border on label.
Style: Classical European-style Apothecary, South American Medical History
Theme/Symbolism: Early 20th-century global trade, botanical medicine, industrial expansion of South American pharmacy networks.
Excellent antique condition. The original ground-glass stopper is historically stuck/fused to the neck and has not been forced open; the bottle is empty. The amber glass shows beautiful manufacturing characteristics, including tiny trapped air bubbles (seeds) and an organic interior texture inherent to turn-mold blowing. Minor flea bites on the edge of the stopper lip. The paper label shows expected age toning, minor staining, and edge wear consistent with a century of storage, but remains entirely legible and structurally intact. True, unaltered antique state.
Founded in 1923, Droguería Suizo Argentina quickly grew to become one of the most prominent pharmaceutical wholesalers and distributors in South America. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, operating from their major commercial headquarters at Av. Rivadavia 2284 in Buenos Aires, they established strategic regional branch offices (sucursales) in the provincial capitals of Rosario, Mendoza, Tucumán, and La Plata to supply the interior of the country.
While American and British glass manufacturers had completely shifted to automated assembly-line machine bottles by the 1920s, South American and European glassworks continued to utilize skilled artisans to hand-blow heavy apothecary jars into turn-molds. This method allowed the glassblower to rotate the molten gather inside a lubricated iron mold, erasing any unsightly mold lines to create a perfectly smooth exterior preferred for high-end pharmacy counter displays. Each bottle was overseen by a certified pharmacist - in this case, Oscar P. Baglione - insuring the chemical purity and weight of the botanical powders distributed across the Argentine Republic.
