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Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePharmacy Jar (Albarello), c. 1450. Italy, Tuscany. Tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica); overall: 34.3 x 15.9 cm (13 1/2 x 6 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1954.258
