Fireclay retort signed "Wedgwood" on the beak, from the workshop of Josiah Wedgwood, the famous potter and instrument-maker. The Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale of Florence purchased 13 retorts in April 1793 to increase the capabilities of the chemistry laboratory, which already possessed instruments and other items from the English factory. Wedgwood's retorts were appreciated by chemists across Europe for their resistance to temperature swings.