Beeswax in old apothecary shops

Among the  ingredients of animal origin most often employed in the apothecary shops of the medieval and early modern periods one can mention honey and wax. Still used in numerous natural cures today, apiculture products featured in the past as well.

Rose honey, MEL. ROSATUM (or Mellis Rosae)  was used as such, due to its emollient and lenitive (calming pain) properties, but was also an ingredient in various composite drugs (especially gargles and creams).

Rose honey display at the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cuj-Napoca, August 2016

Beeswax was used in apothecary shops not only for candles (that the pharmacist produced to sell and that also ensured the light in his pharmacy and house), but were also part of unguents, plasters and various treatments. 
 

Candle-making device and candle hand-modeling board in the pharmacy museum from Krakow. Taken from Istvan Budahazi, Contributii la istoria farmaciei oradene, 2007, p. 28.

The History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca, part of the National history Museum of Transylvania, exhibits in the "Animals that heal" temporary exhibition currently on display in the Hintz House, a wooden apothecary jar from the 19th c, with the signature CERA ALBA (white wax). 

Natural beeswax candle, in the "Animals that heal" temporary exhibition

Detail of the "CERA ALBA" signature on a wooden apothecary jar, in the "Animals that heal" temporary exhibition

Attempt at encaustic I

After finally getting everything needed, I woke up early Sunday morning for the experiment. I prepared all the materials, beeswax, carnauba wax, metal containers, pigments, heater, hair dryer, gold foil and the rest. Everything went well, with a bit of struggle in cutting the beeswax lump and determining 10% of carnauba wax.

Then things went south and I was unable to take photos in the heat (literally) of the action. The metal plate supporting the containers started to smoke and had to be removed, but placing the containers directly on the electric heater worked well. Molten was does tent to drip from the brush, so some ended directly on the electric heater, which again did not smell so great - from this point onward I worked with the window open - mind you, it is freezing cold in Romania this time of the year.
I somehow applied the wax to the wooden panels, but trying to fuse it with the hair dryer proved futile - I needed a heating gun. Off to the store, returned with a cheap heating gun, which indeed fuses everything waxy. Which then melts and drips off the wooden panel. Anyway, this is one of the end results, ignore the composition, I was trying everything all together - collage (linocut), color, sewing thread, gold foil.

I presume the beaswax had impurities, thus the white residue on the surface. Or the 10% mix with the carnauba wax was far from accurate. Still, encaustic seems messy and appropriate for large, well ventilated working areas. Also, I envisaged a more translucent quality of the finished work, less irregularities in volume, and easier work with pigment. Gold foil was also very unstable, i.e. it disintegrated when pressed onto the still warm wax and would not stick. I refused the entire layer, so the flaked just drifted around.
So, the next attempt, probably during spring time, on the balcony, will include using pure wax and no pigment, paper, hot stylus for finishes and more tips and tricks to be learned from Nancy Crawford.