Apothecary interior design

The History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj is hosted in the old apothecary shop of the town, in one of the corners of the main square. The Officina preserves as elements of interior design painted seventeenth-century medallions on the vault and nineteenth-century gilded busts of ancient gods and goddesses of healing (Asclepios/Aesculap and Hygeia). Such elements were meant to increase sales and stress the ancient tradition of the trade, counteracting the clients' possible distrust of the cures and recommendations. The Latin inscriptions of the apothecary jars and furniture on display were also intended to contribute to the pharmacist's presumable knowledge and culture.
Early modern pharmacists were among the first retail traders to invest in marketing and sales strategies, among which shop signs, windows and shutters and interior decoration played an important part.