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Source Description
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. A scroll on the back of this vessel indicates that it may have once held a peony compound.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
120825
label
Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
120825
contentType
object
title
Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)
description
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. A scroll on the back of this vessel indicates that it may have once held a peony compound.
date
c. 1475–80
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60757908
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.)
cul
Italy, Florentine region, Cafaggiolo
accession
1941.55
Source extras
tec
tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
tombstone
Pharmacy Jar (Albarello), c. 1475–80. Italy, Florentine region, Cafaggiolo. Tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica); overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1941.550
collection
Decorative Arts
inscriptions
inscription
in ribbon scroll on back: PENIAELFINE.
didYouKnow
At various points in history, medicinal peony compounds have been prescribed for dizziness, weakness, hysteria, jaundice, and kidney stones.
citations
citation
Sotheby's. <em>Catalogue of the Very Choice Collection of Old Italian Majolica and Hispoano-Moresque Ware</em>. June 16, 1938.Sotheby's: London, 1938. Lot 68.
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 219
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 85
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 85
citation
Cole, Bruce. <em>Italian Maiolica from Midwestern Collections. </em>Bloomington: Indiana University Art Museum, 1977.<br>Published as: <em>Drug Pot</em>
page_number
Reproduced: p. 34; Mentioned: p. 35, cat. no. 10
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 96
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:13:42.756000
sourceId
120825
dept
Decorative Art and Design
coll
Decorative Arts
med
tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
87202a0f7ac56022