A drug jar is a container made to store medicines, herbs, ointments, syrups and other preparations in an apothecary's shop or pharmacy. The term usually refers to ceramic jars, particularly those of tin-glazed earthenware, though glass and porcelain examples were also made in large numbers, especially in the nineteenth century.
The tall waisted albarello, used for dry drugs, was developed in the Islamic world and became a staple of Italian maiolica production in the Renaissance, before spreading to Spain, France and the Low Countries. English delftware drug jars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are among the most collected, with dry drug jars and spouted wet drug jars for syrups and oils, painted in blue with a label cartouche giving the abbreviated Latin name of the contents, often framed by birds, cherubs or scrolls. Some pharmaceutical delftware bears the arms of the Society of Apothecaries. Later shop rounds in glass and pottery carried painted or gilt labels. Collectors look for clear, legible inscriptions, unusual contents, good painting and original covers where these existed. Chips and glaze loss are expected on tin-glazed jars, and the labels themselves add considerably to their interest.
