Earthenware drug jar, with turquoise glaze, inscribed, Kashan, Persian, 13th century

The rim and top of this hexagonal drug jar is inscribed with Islamic script. The jar is glazed with a striking turquoise colour. The jar would have been used to hold ingredients for preparations or the actual finished product. The jar’s contents would have been protected using an age-old technique – a parchment or vellum cover tied off with string.

This jar was purchased in Cairo, Egypt, in 1932 by Captain Johnston-Saint, one of Henry Wellcome’s agents who collected on his behalf.