Apothecary jars, 17th - 18th centuries

Apothecary jars were used to store raw materials for making medicines. One can tell from the shape of the jars whether they contained solid or liquid substances. The first letter of the caption also indicates the content, for example A (Aqua) for water, O (Oleum) for oil and U (Unguentum) for ointment.
Formula books, the so-called Pharmacopoeia, indicated precisely what ingredients were necessary for, for example, Requies Puer, 'child's sleep'. A remedy that contained opium and was used to make children drowsy and quiet. Apart from some wooden jars, the receptacles were usually made of earthenware. In Delft attempts were made to imitate Chinese porcelain, but the clay used was not suitable and the temperature at which it was baked was not high enough to obtain true porcelain. Under the name Delft Blue this imitation porcelain still enjoys great popularity, and not only as a material for apothecary jars...