Esteve Pharmacy
Encyclopedia
The Esteve Pharmacy is a medieval pharmacy
and museum located in the village of Llívia
, in the comarca of Cerdanya
, Catalonia
, Spain. Llívia is a Spanish
exclave within the French region of Pyrénées-Orientales
. The Esteve Pharmacy, founded at the beginning of the 15th century, is one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe
and keeps a collection of albarello
s from the 16th and 17th centuries, glass from the 19th century, Renaissance
boxes with portraits of saints and personages, a library, laboratory instruments, antique drugs and preparations, old prescription books, and a barroque "cordialer" cupboard made by Josep Sunyer during the period when the Esteve family managed the pharmacy for up to seven generations. It is one of the most important collections of its kind in Europe.
In 1942, Lleó Antoni Esteve closed the pharmacy and moved to Puigcerdà
. In 1958 the pharmacy was transferred to the Llívia town, and the Province of Girona Diputació purchased it in 1965.
s or blue jars. They are cylindrical and taller than they are wide, with a smaller diameter at the top. They are of cobalt blue
color. The base is never colored, which possibly means that the albarellos were bathed in color while holding them from the base. The interior is of white enamel
.
The three types of albarellos are:
The simple ones measure about 30 cm, while the cordialer ones measure about 13–14 cm.
They were initially not decorated in order to reduce costs. The interior is of white glazed enamel due to either a fashion or a practical reason. With no decoration, the pharmacist had greater freedom to reuse the jars. However, the fact they had no written signs could lead to confusion, so it was common to place diagonal paper bands on the jars, labeled in Gothic letters. This identification system was used until Josep Esteve modernized the system.
Josep Esteve added labels to the albarellos without heating them. Not only did he paint them, but he also imitated a polychrome contemporary production from Banyoles
and drew a medallion of Louis XVI style (a clear influence from France) and yellow vertical profiling with a red ribbon. A few bunches of parsley
on the side highlighted it in yellow. The free space inside the oval included the written abbreviation of the jar content. This innovation could have come from the rivalry with the Martí pharmacy from Puigcerdà
during the 18th century. Other collections of the Iberian peninsula also introduced this system.
Blue albarellos are found in Llívia (87), Barcelona
(28), El Masnou
(75) and Ille-sur-Têt
(40). There are also others scattered throughout museums. Their origin is unknown and has been an intriguing mystery, because it is not clear where or when the originated.
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
and museum located in the village of Llívia
Llívia
Llívia is a town of Cerdanya, province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is a Spanish exclave within the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
, in the comarca of Cerdanya
Cerdanya
Cerdanya is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it has been one of the counties of Catalonia....
, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Spain. Llívia is a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
exclave within the French region of Pyrénées-Orientales
Pyrénées-Orientales
Pyrénées-Orientales is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. It also surrounds the tiny Spanish enclave of Llívia, and thus has two distinct borders with Spain.- History :...
. The Esteve Pharmacy, founded at the beginning of the 15th century, is one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and keeps a collection of albarello
Albarello
An albarello is a type of maiolica earthenware jar, originally a medicinal jar designed to hold apothecaries' ointments and dry drugs. The development of this type of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Middle East during the time of the Islamic conquests....
s from the 16th and 17th centuries, glass from the 19th century, Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
boxes with portraits of saints and personages, a library, laboratory instruments, antique drugs and preparations, old prescription books, and a barroque "cordialer" cupboard made by Josep Sunyer during the period when the Esteve family managed the pharmacy for up to seven generations. It is one of the most important collections of its kind in Europe.
In 1942, Lleó Antoni Esteve closed the pharmacy and moved to Puigcerdà
Puigcerdà
Puigcerdà is the capital of the Catalan comarca of Cerdanya, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, northern Spain, near the river Segre and the border with France .- History :...
. In 1958 the pharmacy was transferred to the Llívia town, and the Province of Girona Diputació purchased it in 1965.
The blue albarellos
The Esteve pharmacy keeps several albarelloAlbarello
An albarello is a type of maiolica earthenware jar, originally a medicinal jar designed to hold apothecaries' ointments and dry drugs. The development of this type of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Middle East during the time of the Islamic conquests....
s or blue jars. They are cylindrical and taller than they are wide, with a smaller diameter at the top. They are of cobalt blue
Cobalt blue
Cobalt blue is a cool, slightly desaturated blue color, historically made using cobalt salts of alumina. It is used in certain ceramics and painting; the different cobalt pigment smalt, based on silica, is more often used directly in tinted transparent glasses...
color. The base is never colored, which possibly means that the albarellos were bathed in color while holding them from the base. The interior is of white enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
.
The three types of albarellos are:
- simple, which are used to store specific elements in natural state. These are the largest of the 3 types.
- compounds, containing drugs made of simple elements of frequent use and long conservation. These include ointments and preserves and are of medium size.
- "cordialer" ones, containing semi-elaborated products, extracts or powder of simple products or special compounds of infrequent use, and confections. These are smaller and are named after the "cordialer", the cupboard where they are stored.
The simple ones measure about 30 cm, while the cordialer ones measure about 13–14 cm.
They were initially not decorated in order to reduce costs. The interior is of white glazed enamel due to either a fashion or a practical reason. With no decoration, the pharmacist had greater freedom to reuse the jars. However, the fact they had no written signs could lead to confusion, so it was common to place diagonal paper bands on the jars, labeled in Gothic letters. This identification system was used until Josep Esteve modernized the system.
Josep Esteve added labels to the albarellos without heating them. Not only did he paint them, but he also imitated a polychrome contemporary production from Banyoles
Banyoles
Banyoles is a city of 17,309 inhabitants located in the province of Girona in northeastern Catalonia, Spain.The town is the capital of the Catalan comarca "Pla de l'Estany"...
and drew a medallion of Louis XVI style (a clear influence from France) and yellow vertical profiling with a red ribbon. A few bunches of parsley
Parsley
Parsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...
on the side highlighted it in yellow. The free space inside the oval included the written abbreviation of the jar content. This innovation could have come from the rivalry with the Martí pharmacy from Puigcerdà
Puigcerdà
Puigcerdà is the capital of the Catalan comarca of Cerdanya, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, northern Spain, near the river Segre and the border with France .- History :...
during the 18th century. Other collections of the Iberian peninsula also introduced this system.
Blue albarellos are found in Llívia (87), Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
(28), El Masnou
El Masnou
El Masnou is a town in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Montgat and Premià de Mar, to the north-east of the city of Barcelona, in the comarca of el Maresme...
(75) and Ille-sur-Têt
Ille-sur-Têt
Ille-sur-Têt is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.Its inhabitants are called Illois.-Geography:...
(40). There are also others scattered throughout museums. Their origin is unknown and has been an intriguing mystery, because it is not clear where or when the originated.