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This drug jar is labelled “DIASCORD”, an abbreviation of the full Latin name Diascodrium. This translates as “water germander”, which was a thick liquid medical preparation (known as an electuary) that had a similar consistency to honey. It contained a range of ingredients and existed in a variety of different recipes – some including opium. Among the conditions it was at times used to treat were diarrhoea, dysentery, plague, colic and fevers. It could induce sleep and was recommended for women during childbirth. 

Drug jars have a number of different shapes, design motifs and decorative styles which can help date the objects. Although quite crude in design, the face of the winged cherub – a feature of numerous drug jars – is quite realistic. Elsewhere a songbird motif and peacock feathers can be seen.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: England, United Kingdom

Drug jar for Water Germander electuary, England, 1720-1780

This earthenware jar was used to store cinchona bark. Cinchona was used to prevent heavy bleeding and diarrhoea but is better known as a source of quinine. The active ingredient of cinchona bark, quinine was used for pain relief and to prevent fevers but was primarily a treatment for malaria. 

The jar is painted with the figures of the Christian Apostles (the twelve original followers of Jesus) and is believed to be from the Castelli region of Italy.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Castelli, Teramo, Abruzzi, Italy

Drug jar for cinchona bark, Italy, 1701-1730

The abbreviated Italian inscription Sciroppo Rosato Solutivo translates into English as “Laxative Syrup of Roses”. The syrup was made by heating 5 lb (2.6 kg) of pale roses and 4 lb (2.6 kg) of sugar to treat fevers and purge bile from the body – it acted as a laxative. The mixture was probably taken as a drink or by the spoonful and would have been very sweet.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Faenza, Ravenna province, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Syrup jar for Syrup of Roses, Faenza, Italy, 1571-1600

The inscription painted on this earthenware jar is a shortened form of the Latin phrase Conserva di Rose Alessandrino, which translates as “Conserve of Alexandrian Roses”. The petals of these roses would have first been pounded in a mortar along with sugar. Once a jam-like product had been formed, the treatment would be taken orally, acting as a strong laxative. The vase is decorated with the figure of a soldier in Italian armour and dress.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Venice, Venezia, Veneto, Italy

Drug jar for Conserve of Alexandrian Roses, Venice, Italy, 1

The Gothic lettering on the jar says Diacatholicon – Latin for “the Universal Electuary”. An electuary is a thick sticky liquid medicine and this treatment was so called because it was supposed to purge all the humours equally. Purging was believed to be one way to equalise the balance of the humours in patients and so restore them to health. 

Made from a blend of boiled ingredients, including rhubarb, violets, gourds, melons with liquorice, and sugar with crushed powder of cassia (similar to cinnamon), the treatment was also used for gout and arthritis.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Liguria, Italy

Albarello drug jar for the Universal Electuary, Italy, 1601-

This Islamic drug jar is typical in size, shape and design. Ceramics like this are very difficult to date because the style has changed little over time. The illustration shows two women kneeling in a garden and gathering plants, presumably to use in medical preparations. The jar’s contents would have been protected using an age-old technique – a parchment or vellum cover tied off with string.

This jar was purchased in Cairo, Egypt, in 1932 by Captain Johnston-Saint, one of Henry Wellcome’s agents who collected on his behalf.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Middle East

Earthenware drug jar, Middle East, before 1932

The inscription “Cort Calisay” gives an indication as to what the earthenware albarello would have contained. Calisaya is another name for cinchona bark. The active ingredient in cinchona is quinine. Quinine is used for pain relief and to prevent fevers and for a long time was the primary treatment for malaria. Calisay or Calisaya is also a strong, bitter alcoholic liqueur made from cinchona bark in the Catalonia region of Spain .

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Spain

Albarello drug jar used for cinchona bark, Spain, 1731-1770

The hourglass shape of this earthenware drug jar is typical of the albarello design. The base is a 16-sided polygon. The ceramic jar is glazed with brown decoration on a cream background. The jar would have been used to hold ingredients for preparations or the actual finished product. It is thought that this jar was made in Persia (modern day Iran) in a town called Racca on the banks of the River Euphrates.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Iran

Albarello, Iran, 1101-1200

Mustard was little used as an ingredient for medical preparations. It was generally considered to be flavouring for food. But mustard seeds were sometime prescribed for epilepsy and drowsiness. When the crushed seeds were mixed with flour, warm water or alcohol, and heated, a mustard plaster was formed. Mustard plasters were still commonly used in the 1800s as a counter-irritant.

The religious figure is St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), the founder of the Franciscan Order in 1209. Here he is shown with the wounds of the stigmata. His stigmata, which are said to have appeared in 1224, were the first recorded instance of the phenomenon.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Sicily, Italy

Drug jar used for fine mustard, Sicily, 1501-1700

The Latin inscription painted on to the side of the drug jar is believed to give the name of its maker “Master Pietro Sestito” and the date “1790”. It is quite possible that the jar was made by a young apprentice who was learning how to make ceramics. The shape and size of the jar is similar to others from Southern Italy.

Albarello vases, with their characteristic hourglass shape and multicoloured decoration, originated in Persia. This shape was developed so that many jars could be put on one shelf, yet each still be safely removed by grasping it around the middle.

maker: Sestito, Pietro

Place made: Italy

Albarello drug jar, Italy, 1790

Caryocostin was a medicinal preparation made from a number of plants such as costus root, scammony and cloves – each of these plant names had a number of alternatives that could be used interchangeably.

Caryocostin was used in the treatment of diseases such as gout and those that were thought to be caused by an excess of bile. Drug jars featured a number of different motifs which can be used to help date them. This motif is one of the earliest examples in English design where the name of the drug is painted on to the jar.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: England, United Kingdom

Drug jar for Caryocostin, England, 1650-1670

This Islamic drug jar is a typical size, shape and design. Ceramics like this are very difficult to date because the style has changed little over time. The illustration shows two women kneeling in a garden and gathering plants, presumably to use in medical preparations, while a nightingale looks on. Pestles and mortars used to grind up ingredients for drugs and treatments can also be seen. The jar’s contents would have been protected using an age-old technique – a parchment or vellum cover tied off with string.

This jar was purchased in Cairo, Egypt, in 1932 by Captain Johnston-Saint, one of Henry Wellcome’s agents who collected on his behalf.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Middle East

The inscription on this jar translates from Latin as “Mesue’s French Musked Lozenges of Aloes Wood”. The preparation was made from aloe wood and two animal products, ambergris and musk, which are both difficult to find in large quantities. Pressed into lozenges, they were used to strengthen the brain and heart. All of the ingredients are very fragrant and so they also acted as a deodorant and breath freshener. The French part of the name derives from the preparation’s popularity in France.

Mesue (777-857 CE) was the European name for Yuhanna Ibn Masawayh, a prominent Christian physician who wrote in Arabic. Ibn Masawayh worked at the Baghdad hospital and was personal physician to a number of Caliphs. ‘Meuse’ was also the pseudonym of a pharmaceutical writer.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Sicily, Italy

Albarello drug jar for Mesue's French Musked Lozenges of Alo

The jar on the right was used to store Sciroppo di Sannicola, Latin for “Syrup of Sanicle”. Sanicle is a herb related to parsley and was mixed with sugar to make a syrup. The plant’s name is Latin for “healthy”. The syrup was taken by the spoonful to heal internal ulcers, especially in the kidneys and bladder.

St Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226) is shown on the drug jar receiving the stigmata from heaven. His stigmata, which are said to have appeared in 1224, were the first recorded instance of the phenomenon. He received the stigmata in recognition of the difficulty of setting up his religious order, the Franciscans. The jar is shown with a similar example for syrup of sanicle (A42625).

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Italy

Albarello drug jar for Sanicle, Italy, 1601-1800

The portrait painted on the side of this albarello is of Horatius Publius Cocles. He was a Roman military hero who single-handedly defended a bridge into Rome against the Etruscan army while the bridge was being destroyed and then swam back to Rome. Pictures of him are a common feature on vases from the Faenza region of Italy.

The jar was used to store Sciroppo di Stecade, Italian for “Syrup of French Lavender”. The syrup was used to treat disorders of the brain and nerves, including paralysis, epilepsy, spasms, tremors and pain.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Faenza, Ravenna province, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Albarello drug jar for Syrup of French Lavender, Faenza, Ita

The devil’s head at the base appears to be a dispensing hole for the contents of the large jar on the left (measuring 480 mm in height). Entwined snakes form the handles. The blue and white decorations show scenes of Roman battle and a Roman soldier dying from an arrow wound. The other side depicts more pleasant scenes of gods feeding each other grapes and a girl walking with a dog in the countryside. It is shown with a similar example (A631894).

maker: Grosso

Place made: Albisola, Savona, Liguria, Italy

Pharmacy vase, Italy, 1740

On the right, the illustrated scene on the earthenware jar shows an event from the New Testament of the Bible. Titled ‘La Samartina’, it tells the story of a woman from Samaria drawing water from the well down which Joseph (the one with the famous coat) had been cast by his brothers. Jesus is shown asking for a drink. The other inscription gives the name of the jar’s contents, Ungentum Aureum (“Golden Ointment”), which was applied to the skin to stop bleeding. 

The jar was bequeathed by British laryngologist Sir St Clair Thomson (1856-1943) to the Royal College of Surgeons in London before being donated to the Wellcome collections. It is shown here with a similar biblically illustrated jar (A633767).

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Faenza, Ravenna province, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Albarello drug jar for Golden Ointment, Italy, 1571-1630

The earthenware pharmacy jar was used to store terra sigillata, or “sealed earth”. Terra sigillata was a clay-like soil that was believed to have medicinal qualities. It was first used on the Greek island of Lemnos in around 500 BCE. It was usually prepared into cakes and then dried. The clay was then crushed into a powder and taken with liquids or made into a paste and smeared on the body. 

Terra sigillata was believed to fight against a number of diseases, including plague, and was highly sought after during epidemics.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Spain

Earthenware jar for terra sigillata, Spain, 1601-1700

The decoration on the albarello jar shows a bearded Moor wearing a turban. Moors were Muslims from north-west Africa who conquered Spain in the 700s. The proximity of Sicily to the north African coast probably accounts for this particular design. 

Albarello vases, with their characteristic hourglass shape and multicoloured decoration, originated in Persia. This shape was developed so that many jars could be put on one shelf yet each still be safely removed by grasping it around the middle. This jar shows bubbling of the surface caused by re-firing the pottery to fix the glaze to the clay.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Sicily, Italy

Albarello drug jar, Sicily, 1640

Drug jars were sometimes decorated with unusual scenes. Elephants were a common feature at royal zoos, but were still considered very exotic and unusual and were clearly the inspiration for the illustration. 

Albarello vases, with their characteristic hourglass shape and multicoloured decoration, originated in Persia. This shape was developed so that many jars could be put on one shelf yet each still be safely removed by grasping it around the middle. This type of decorated pottery is known as maiolica (or majolica) and is believed to be named after the island of Majorca, where the finest pots of this type were said to be made.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Italy

Albarello drug jar, Italy, 1720-1790

Animal fats were used as a common base for a number of ointments. Each animal was credited with special properties. The jar on the right is labelled Grasso di Tasso, Latin for “Badger Fat”. It was believed to have soothing and pain relieving qualities and to mend broken bones and muscles or reduce fevers and inflammation. The symbol painted above the date, 1585, is probably a mark of a monastery. It is shown here with a drug jar for horse fat (A42493).

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Castelli, Teramo, Abruzzi, Italy

Albarello drug jar used to store badger fat, Italy, 1585

Vessels such as this earthenware pharmacy jar were used by apothecaries. They stored materials such as dried herbs, minerals and other medicines. This Chinese example dates from the Ching dynasty (1644-1911). It is decorated with cherry blossom and bamboo leaves. These are widely used motifs within Asian cultures. The jar is very large and heavy. A small spout is formed in the shape of an anthropomorphic figure (part human, part animal). The vessel stored liquids.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: China

Earthenware pharmacy jar, China, 1644-1911

Painted on the earthenware jar are the figures of St Philomena (on the right) and another figure called Ruccieri (on the left). St Philomena (or Filumena) was a virgin martyr whose cult was popular, especially for healing, in the 1800s after the supposed discovery of her bones. The apparent discovery of her body was later discredited and her feast day was removed from the Christian calendar in 1960. Nothing is known about Ruccieri.

The vases, with their snake-like handles, are 330 mm high and 210 mm wide.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Deruta, Perugia, Umbria, Italy

Pharmacy vase, Italy, 1530-1680

The design of this Islamic drug jar is typical for the region in terms of size, shape and decoration – although they are very difficult to date because the style changed very little over time. The jar’s contents would have been protected using an age-old technique – a parchment or vellum cover tied with string. This jar was made in Persia – modern day Iran.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Syria

Earthenware drug jar, Syria, 1101-1200

The earthenware drug jar has the date and the initials “SPQR” painted on to the side, which stand for Senatus Populusque Romanus (“The Senate and People of Rome”). The decoration includes a bearded man with outstretched arms and the trophies and spoils of war – the defeated enemies’ shields, armour, drums and musical instruments. These trophies would be displayed on a battlefield or a public place to commemorate a military victory.

maker: Unknown maker

Place made: Sicily, Italy

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Drug jar for Water Germander electuary, England, 1720-1780

Drug jar for cinchona bark, Italy, 1701-1730

Syrup jar for Syrup of Roses, Faenza, Italy, 1571-1600

Drug jar for Conserve of Alexandrian Roses, Venice, Italy, 1

Albarello drug jar for the Universal Electuary, Italy, 1601-

Earthenware drug jar, Middle East, before 1932

Albarello drug jar used for cinchona bark, Spain, 1731-1770

Albarello, Iran, 1101-1200

Drug jar used for fine mustard, Sicily, 1501-1700

Albarello drug jar, Italy, 1790

Drug jar for Caryocostin, England, 1650-1670

Earthenware drug jar, Middle East, before 1932

Albarello drug jar for Mesue's French Musked Lozenges of Alo

Albarello drug jar for Sanicle, Italy, 1601-1800

Albarello drug jar for Syrup of French Lavender, Faenza, Ita

Pharmacy vase, Italy, 1740

Albarello drug jar for Golden Ointment, Italy, 1571-1630

Earthenware jar for terra sigillata, Spain, 1601-1700

Albarello drug jar, Sicily, 1640

Albarello drug jar, Italy, 1720-1790

Albarello drug jar used to store badger fat, Italy, 1585

Earthenware pharmacy jar, China, 1644-1911

Pharmacy vase, Italy, 1530-1680

Earthenware drug jar, Syria, 1101-1200

Albarello drug jar, Sicily, 1629

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Works search

All filters

Active filters:

Drug jar for Water Germander electuary, England, 1720-1780

Drug jar for cinchona bark, Italy, 1701-1730

Syrup jar for Syrup of Roses, Faenza, Italy, 1571-1600

Drug jar for Conserve of Alexandrian Roses, Venice, Italy, 1

Albarello drug jar for the Universal Electuary, Italy, 1601-

Earthenware drug jar, Middle East, before 1932

Albarello drug jar used for cinchona bark, Spain, 1731-1770

Albarello, Iran, 1101-1200

Drug jar used for fine mustard, Sicily, 1501-1700

Albarello drug jar, Italy, 1790

Drug jar for Caryocostin, England, 1650-1670

Earthenware drug jar, Middle East, before 1932

Albarello drug jar for Mesue's French Musked Lozenges of Alo

Albarello drug jar for Sanicle, Italy, 1601-1800

Albarello drug jar for Syrup of French Lavender, Faenza, Ita

Pharmacy vase, Italy, 1740

Albarello drug jar for Golden Ointment, Italy, 1571-1630

Earthenware jar for terra sigillata, Spain, 1601-1700

Albarello drug jar, Sicily, 1640

Albarello drug jar, Italy, 1720-1790

Albarello drug jar used to store badger fat, Italy, 1585

Earthenware pharmacy jar, China, 1644-1911

Pharmacy vase, Italy, 1530-1680

Earthenware drug jar, Syria, 1101-1200

Albarello drug jar, Sicily, 1629

Wellcome Collection

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