Cleveland Museum of Art

Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)

Date

c. 1450

Medium

tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)

Culture

Italy, Tuscany

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The albarello —a name of uncertain origin—was a pharmacist's jar used to hold dried herbs or medicinal compounds. It was usually closed by means of a piece of parchment or cloth stretched over its mouth and tied with a string. Its characteristic concave sides offered an easy grip to facilitate handling. This large albarello is one of the best of a small number of exquisitely decorated blue-and-white pieces produced in Tuscany in the mid-1400s.

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