Ooh! Pretty!

[bunnyjadwiga]

The October 3, 2007 issue of JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association, has on its cover a very nice photo of a circa 1580 terracotta Drug Jar for Theriac from the J. Paul Getty museum:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/298/13/1483
The article inside the cover describes the usual constituents of the drug Theriac

...theriac served as an antidote for all poisons and afflictions; it was part of the ancient physician's armamentarium for prevention as well as treatment of disease. The recipe for theriac varied but usually included vipers' flesh, parts of lizards, honey, plants, and herbs or spices (even ginger, cinnamon, and myrrh). Theriac's ingredients (40 to 60 separate items) were a closely held secret, passed along in poetic verse... Theriac, also later referred to as treacle, existed in the pharmacopoeia of Western physicians and pharmacies until the 1700s.
-- Janet M. Torpy. "The Cover," JAMA, October 3, 2007-- Vol 298, No. 13, p. 1483

Comments

[amazon-42.livejournal.com]

I wrote a paper about the origins and contents of Theriac for one of my history classes once, because my dad has dozens of books on drug history. It's a lovely picture and I'm sure Dad would want the article, do you know where I could get a copy of that issue of JAMA? It's not as though they sell it at your average newsstand.