Drug Jar

17th century

This cylindrical drug jar tapers at the neck and base, and has a grayish tin glaze background decorated with deep blue striped patterns. Geometric decoration consists of compartmentalized vertical designs between four horizontal lines of blue at both shoulders. In the <i>Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue</i> George Urdang attributes this jar to Creussen, a town in Bavaria in the first half of the 17th century. However, after seeing the collection in 1983, pharmaceutical historian Wolfgang Hagen Hein wrote about new research that placed the origin of similar jars to Arnstadt, a small town in the principality of Thuringia.