Cleveland Museum of Art

Pharmacy Bottle

Date

c. 1500–1510

Medium

tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)

Culture

Italy, Papal States, Faenza

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Pharmacy bottles that lined the shelves of Renaissance pharmacies often held medicinal herbs, spices, and ointments. The inscription on this bottle reads CAPILLV, which was a liquid extracted from a fern-like plant commonly referred to as “maiden’s hair water.” The peacock feather design lining the bottom of this bottle was especially popular in Faenza, near Bologna, during the Renaissance.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.