Small Pharmacy Jar Or Albarello - Spain - End Of The 16th - Beginning Of The 17th Century

Small Pharmacy Jar or Albarello
Catalonia region, Spain
Late 16th - early 17th century
Earthenware
H. 13.5 ; Diam. 11 cm
(restoration)

This small Hispano-Moorish medicine pot, known as an albarello, is made of majolica and has a spool shape: cylindrical, curved at the waist (to make it easier to hold) and with a shoulder at the neck with a bead (allowing a ligature to be attached and the container to be closed). It is entirely covered with polychrome decoration organised in floral cartouches of blue pigments on a white background.
The top and bottom edges are decorated with slightly lighter lines.
Albarelli were highly prized by apothecaries and chemists, who used them to store ointments, medicinal plants and other powders thanks to the non-porous properties of these containers.

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON

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