This jar is from the pharmacy of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, Siena. The cylindrical shape was considered to resemble a little tree trunk, hence the name albarello for this type of jar. The slight inward curve of the side would permit it to be grasped when standing among a row of closely packed jars on a shelf in the pharmacy.

The decoration is in the manner of the potter Maestro Benedetto, who was active as a majolica painter in the first half of the sixteenth century.

Open full-size image