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Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)

c. 1510

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

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.

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Learn more about this artwork.
  • Title: Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)
  • Date Created: c. 1510
  • Physical Dimensions: Overall: 22.6 cm (8 7/8 in.)
  • Provenance: (Charles Damiron, Lyon).
  • Type: Ceramic
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1965.553
  • Medium: tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
  • Inscriptions: located above foot of jar: DIA-IRIS.
  • Fun Fact: The scroll along the bottom reads DIA IRIS, indicating that it may have once held a medicinal iris compound.
  • Department: Decorative Art and Design
  • Culture: Italy, Siena
  • Credit Line: Gift of the Twentieth Century Club
  • Collection: Decorative Arts
  • Accession Number: 1965.553
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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