OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION: October 3, 2024 at 12:00 p.m

THE DISCREET CHARM OF PHARMACY GLASS: Glass from Croatian Pharmacies in the Collections of the Croatian Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the title of the guest exhibition of the Croatian Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy HAZU in the Museum of Ancient Glass in Zadar, which tells the story of the use of glass in historical Croatian pharmacies in the period of 17th until the 20th century. We are talking about a selection of 267 glass objects that were in use in many famous Croatian pharmacies, primarily in Zagreb, then in Velika Gorica, Valpovo, Šibenik, Rovinj and other Croatian cities.

Pharmacy jars of various dimensions and recognizable shapes are the most numerous in number, most often made of transparent colorless glass, then of milk glass, cobalt blue, yellow and brown to black and red colored glass. Among the exhibits is an interesting example of a historical travel pharmacy, with its contents, as well as a significant group of packaging items and products of the pharmaceutical industry of the 19th and 20th centuries.

In addition to their utilitarian value, many objects contain stylistic elements of the time in which they were made, which is recognized in the selection of glass and the design of forms, as well as in the way of making lavishly decorated inscription fields, symbols of contained elements, raw materials, finished preparations… A large number of exhibited objects contain traces, and sometimes larger amounts of original content, which especially contributes to the presentation of their authentic practical application.

At the time of its establishment in 2014, the Croatian Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy had only one large collection, which was created by unifying the materials of the pharmaceutical-historical collection in Zagreb (founded in 1937) and the Museum of the History of Healthcare in Croatia (founded in 1944 at the Croatian Medical Association). In the 1960s, the materials of both collections (museums) became the property of the Division for the History of Medical Sciences at HAZU. From one large collection at the beginning of its establishment, the Museum’s total holdings today number slightly more than 6,000 items distributed in 15 separate collections. Credits for the collection of pharmaceutical material go to prof. Ph.D. Hrvoje Tartalja, mag. pharm., founder of the Institute for the History of Pharmacy. This exhibition presents part of that valuable pharmaceutical heritage.

Organizer
Museum of Ancient Glass in Zadar, director Hrvoje Manenica

Co-organizer
Croatian Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Head Marko Pećina

Authors of the exhibition
Silvija Brkić Midžić, Croatian Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Stella Fatović-Ferenčić, Division for the History of Medical Sciences of the Institute of History and Philosohy of Science of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Synopsis of the display and visual layout
Silvija Brkić Midžić, Stella Fatović-Ferenčić

Exhibition curator
Vedrana Jović Gazić

Conservation cleaning of the exhibits
Ivana Matković

Photos
Photo documentation of the Croatian Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy, Srećko Budek, Irena Jukić

Graphic design of the explanatory panels and exhibition poster
Marija Marfat, Vedrana Jović Gazić

Technical set-up
Šime Mičić, Marko Štefanac

Marketing professional associate
Fabija Franulović

The exhibition and the publication of the catalogue are supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia.