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The earliest known dated English delftware drug jar, 1647

© 2021 Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Description

This jar can boast two claims to fame: it is the earliest known dated English delftware drug jar, and it is also the earliest dated appearance of Apollo, the god of medicine, on an English drug jar.
The jar features the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries London coat of arms on its front, with a leaf, pomegranate and flower design on the reverse.
It was manufactured in 1647 at either the Pickleherring, Rotherhithe or Montague Close potteries in Southwark, London.

Fact

The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries’ coat of arms feature Apollo (a god of healing) killing the dragon of disease, supported by two unicorns (from King James’s royal arms) and with a rhinoceros as the crest (the powdered horn was believed to be medicinal). The motto ‘Opiferque Per Orbem Dicor’, from Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’, translates: “I am spoken of all over the world as one who brings help”.