Pharmacy jar (albarello)

ca. 1475–1500

Not on view

Male busts in profile—one youthful, one mature—appear on the front of these two albarelli (see also 46.85.13), while the backs are painted with a graceful floriated design. Given their close similarity, it seems likely that the jars belonged to a single pharmacy set, which might originally have included dozens, if not hundreds, of vessels. In the absence of labels, the different physiognomies could help the merchant distinguish one jar from the next.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Pharmacy jar (albarello)
Date: ca. 1475–1500
Culture: Italian, probably Naples or environs
Medium: Maiolica (tin-glazed earthenware)
Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 12 3/8 × 5 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (31.4 × 14 × 14 cm)
Classification: Ceramics-Pottery
Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1946
Object Number: 46.85.14
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Pharmacy jar (albarello), Maiolica (tin-glazed earthenware), Italian, probably Naples or environs — Pharmacy jar (albarello)
Italian, probably Naples or environs
ca. 1475–1500

Crozier Head, Translucent enamels, silver, gilded silver, and niello, South Italian — Crozier Head
South Italian
1457

Apothecary jar (orciuolo), Giunta di Tugio, Maiolica (tin-glazed earthenware) — Apothecary jar (orciuolo)
perhaps workshop of Giunta di Tugio
probably 1431

Vita et Fabulae (Aesop), Aesop Greek, Printed book with metalcut or woodcut illustrations, bound in green, with gilt edges — Vita et Fabulae (Aesop)
Author Aesop
Editor Francesco Del Tuppo
Publisher Germani Fidelissimi
February 13, 1485

Apothecary jar (orciuolo), Maiolica (tin-glazed earthenware), Italian, Castelli — Apothecary jar (orciuolo)
Italian, Castelli
ca. 1520

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