Grabowski's collection consists of 83 ceramic apothecary vessels made in the period from the 16th to the 19th century in Italian, Dutch, British and French manufactories. They are some of the most valuable exhibits of the Museum of Pharmacy at the Jagiellonian University Medical College. The creator and donor of the collection was the Master of Pharmacy Mateusz Bronisław Grabowski (1904–1976), a pre-war pharmaceutical inspector of the Warsaw Voivodeship, soldier in the September campaign of 1939, member of the Polish Armed Forces in the West, and later, an emigrant entrepreneur and patron of the arts. In years 1948-1976, he ran a pharmacy in central London as well as the thriving Grabowski Export-Import company, which exported medicines to Poland and other countries behind the Iron Curtain..In 1959, he founded a contemporary art gallery, ie the Grabowski Gallery, which was located right next to his company. It was not profit-oriented, but its owner decided to bestow his patronage on both Polish and young, aspiring artists of other nationalities. The first European pop art show was held there in 1962. At Grabowski's Gallery, Jan Czapski, Wojciech Fangor, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Derek Boshier, Pauline Boty and many other creators presented their works. During nearly sixteen years of promotional and exhibition activities, Mateusz Grabowski amassed a private collection of 386 works of art. In 1975, he donated it to the Museum of Art in Łódź and the National Museum in Warsaw. The pharmacist also collected apothecary pottery, which he donated to the Museum of Pharmacy in Kraków. In 1975, in London, he created a foundation in his name - the MB Grabowski Fund, devoting a significant portion of his wealth to this purpose. Its task is to promote Polish culture and science in Great Britain.

Majolica includes ware made of baked clay and covered in tin-lead glaze. They are produced using a technique originating from the Middle East. Over time, the technique also spread in the Iberian Peninsula and subsequently, in Italy. The majolica originating in those regions was particularly popular during the Renaissance and became one of the art symbols of the period. The most important ceramic centers included: Faenza, Urbino, Deruta, Venice, Rome, Montelupo and Savona. Majolica products were very expensive, which is why ordering a set of apothecary dishes emphasized the high economic status of the pharmacy owner. Grabowski's collection includes: vessels (for liquid medicines), vases, jars (including albarella) and tins (for semi-liquid and solid medicines). The names of the preparations, most often in Latin, were typically placed in cartouches painted on the walls of the vessels. There are also unlabelled containers, which may have belonged in a home medicine kit of a wealthy owner. Later on, empty spaces were left on the vessels, in which the names of the medicines could be written according to current needs.

The presented majolica apothecary vessel comes from the collection of Mateusz Bronisław Grabowski (1904–1976). The exhibit belongs to the same group of apothecary vessels as the albarella with inventory numbers KGZ 5934 and KGZ 5935. The belly of the vessel transitions into a short neck. The jug has one, bow-shaped handle, and on the opposite side, in the upper part of the belly, there is a tubular spout in the shape of a reptile's maw. The entire vessel is covered with a colorful plant ornament. On the belly of the jug, there is a large medallion with a figure of a holy monk in a gray habit. He holds a cross in his left hand and points to a six-pointed star located above with the right one. Above, there is a second, smaller medallion with a black eagle, and below, just above the base, there is a ribbon with the inscription: SY [RUPUS] D [E] LVPVLIS, ie hop syrup. The ingredients of this preparation included purified hop juice ( Humulus lupulus L.) and fumitory juice ( Fumaria officinalisL.) seasoned with sugar. This drug was supposed to clear the bile ducts