Cleveland Museum of Art

Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)

Date

c. 1510

Medium

tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)

Culture

Italy, Siena

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. This particular storage jar depicts a child riding a wild boar. The scroll along the bottom reads DIA IRIS, indicating that it may have once held a medicinal iris compound.

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