Drug jar labelled 'ROB:SAMBUC'
Date
Late 17th Century
Description
This English jar shows the head and shoulders of a cherubic figure wearing a halo of rays. It signifies the god Apollo, patron of apothecaries. According to the Latin motto from Ovid that was used by the London guild of apothecaries, Apollo was ‘help-bringer throughout the world’. The full passage from Ovid hails him as discoverer of medicine and master of the power of herbs. Apollo’s head is flanked by jaunty birds as loosely related to peacocks as the cherubic Apollo is to his Greek representations. The Latin label designates a rob (thick liquid preparation) of elderberries (Sambucus nigra). To make this, the juice of pounded berries was boiled down until it reached a honey-like consistency. (The aromatic flowers of the plant were used in the preparation of scented waters.) Elderberries were considered a medicine against respiratory illness and were also regarded as useful in the external treatment of wounds.
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Object detail
other id/inscriptions ▫ as handwritten label on base: '198'
labels ▫ on base 'OLD ____/JA(R?)/4'
labels ▫ loose inside - recto: 'DRUG JAR/"ROB:SAMBUC"/NO 198'; verso: 'LOBBY TO MAIN/STAIR'
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