A pharmacy. Oil painting by a French painter, ca. 1700 (?).

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<p>This is one of a pair of French pictures that Henry S. Wellcome acquired in Pau, French Pyrenees. They are thought to date from around 1700. This one shows the interior of a pharmacy. The walls are piled high with shelves of jars containing prepared medicines and raw materials for medicines (materia medica). At this time most medicines were designed to treat the symptoms. They were composed mainly of vegetable substances, with some animal and mineral materials, and were processed by chemical means such as distilling, infusion, etc. The finished products could be in the form of ointments, syrups, powders and solids. They were prescribed by physicians and were dispensed by pharmacists in their shops. At the top end of the market, pharmacists could have lavish shops to attract wealthy clients: a wide range of jars, marked with the names of their contents, served to impress the clients as well as to store the products. The fine dress of the customers in the shop in this painting indicates that they have plenty of money to spend on medicines. The companion picture shows the use of the clyster, with some of the same people as the present picture. See: <a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/u73h9b5n">https://wellcomecollection.org/works/u73h9b5n</a></p>

A pharmacy. Oil painting by a French painter, ca. 1700 (?).

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