Cleveland Museum of Art

Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)

Date

c. 1475–80

Medium

tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)

Culture

Italy, Florentine region, Cafaggiolo

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Storage jars that lined the shelves of Renaissance pharmacies often held medicinal herbs, spices, and ointments. Their shape made them easy to grasp while the flared lip allowed apothecaries to seal off the contents with parchment or cloth secured by a string. A scroll on the back of this vessel indicates that it may have once held a peony compound. At various points in history, medicinal peony compounds have been prescribed for dizziness, weakness, hysteria, jaundice, and kidney stones.

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