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Source Description
Pharmacy bottles that lined the shelves of Renaissance pharmacies often held medicinal herbs, spices, and ointments. The inscription on this bottle reads CAPILLV, which was a liquid extracted from a fern-like plant commonly referred to as “maiden’s hair water.”
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
123274
label
Pharmacy Bottle
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
123274
contentType
object
title
Pharmacy Bottle
description
Pharmacy bottles that lined the shelves of Renaissance pharmacies often held medicinal herbs, spices, and ointments. The inscription on this bottle reads CAPILLV, which was a liquid extracted from a fern-like plant commonly referred to as “maiden’s hair water.”
date
c. 1500–1510
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60745875
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 38.8 cm (15 1/4 in.)
cul
Italy, Papal States, Faenza
accession
1943.52.2
Source extras
tec
tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
tombstone
Pharmacy Bottle, c. 1500–1510. Italy, Papal States, Faenza. Tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica); overall: 38.8 cm (15 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1943.52.2
collection
Decorative Arts
inscriptions
inscription
written in lower ribbon band: A. CAPILLV.
formerAccessionNumbers
1943.53
didYouKnow
The peacock feather design lining the bottom of this bottle was especially popular in Faenza, near Bologna, during the Renaissance.
citations
citation
Milliken, William M. "Italian Majolica." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 31, no. 1 (January 1944): 7-15.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 10, Reproduced: pp. 13-14
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25141102
citation
Cole, Bruce. <em>Italian Maiolica from Midwestern Collections. </em>Bloomington: Indiana University Art Museum, 1977.<br>Published as <em>Drug Bottle.</em>
page_number
Mentioned: p. 36, cat. no. 11; Reproduced: p. 37
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Jenifer Neils. <em>The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 39, no. 41
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:20:33.581000
sourceId
123274
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
74c1e12f9b90205f