A man with a herbal and a jar of theriac: an apothecary or pharmaceutical scholar. Oil painting.

The man is wearing a red academic gown over a black jacket and white neckwear in an 18th-century style. He holds a herbal book. Behind him is a blue and white ceramic drug jar labelled "Theriaca", i.e. containing the medicine theriac, used as an antidote to the bites of venomous animals such as snakes, scorpions, spiders and bees, and as a panacea. It was considered very expensive and precious, and was made with many ingredients, both animal and vegetable