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- This flamboyantly shaped and decorated two-handled storage jar or vase (on the left in the photograph) was made in Deruta, a small town near Perugia in the Umbria region of Italy, around 1460–1500. Deruta was the main centre for maiolica production in the region. Its prominence began in the later fifteenth century, when it became renowned for its golden lustre ware.
The jar’s shape, which gives it its name, ‘albarello’, derives from Arab pharmacy jars. The Arabic word ‘El Barani’ describes a container for drugs which often has a slightly concave profile for ease of holding. Albarelli (plural of ‘albarello’) originated in 12th-century Persia.
C80 and closely comparable Wallace Collection C81 (shown on the right in the photograph) are likely to have been made as pharmacy jars, though the existence of similar examples, inscribed with the names of young women, suggests that some may have been gifts intended for another function, such as a vase. Unlike Wallace Collection C77 and C78, C80 and C81 are not inscribed with the names of medicinal drugs.
While they are not lustred, C80 and C81 reveal the influence of fifteenth-century lustreware made by Muslim potters and those under their influence in Valencia and Malaga. This is seen in their strongly contrasted white and blue palette, the radiating zig-zag pattern on their shoulders, and their flat, cusped handles. For the decoration of the handles, the layer painted in manganese purple has been scratched through with a fine point before being fired, to reveal the white beneath, in a technique known as ‘scraffito’.
Several elements of the decoration of C80 and C81 occur on maiolica fragments datable to the second half of the fifteenth century that were excavated in Deruta and published in the 1980s. The incised ornament on the handles is a typical motif of Deruta ceramics at that time. An example with closely comparable handles to those on Wallace Collection C80 and C81 is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. 65.6.2). Albarelli similar in shape and form to C80 and C81, either with or without lustre, but with rope handles, bear the arms of the Crispolti and Baglioni families of Perugia. The lion in the shield on C80 may be for the Gianfigliazzi of Florence, in Tuscany, whose heraldic device is a blue lion on a yellow background.
Albarelli made from tin-glazed earthenware played an important role in Italian maiolica production in the second half of the fifteenth century. The increase in demand for them was due in part to the publication of books about pharmacy, making the study of medicine easier to access. They were well suited to this purpose, being impermeable and easy to clean, while their decoration often included a scroll or cartouche inscribed with a description of the contents. These took both liquid and solid form, and were wide-ranging, even including spices such as cinnamon and pepper. Jars of albarello shape, such as Wallace Collection C77, C78, C80 and C81, were used to store dry ingredients. The contents could be kept clean by the application of a ceramic lid or a paper or fabric cover tied below the jar’s rim. Spouted drug jars such as Wallace Collection C51 were used for liquid (wet) remedies.
Pharmacy jars were produced in sets. The number and variety of the containers in a set varied, depending on their destination. A large set might be ordered for the pharmacy of a hospital or monastic order, while a set for domestic use would be less extensive. Their decoration could include the initials of an institution or the coat of arms or emblem of a noble family.
- This flamboyantly shaped and decorated two-handled storage jar or vase (on the left in the photograph) was made in Deruta, a small town near Perugia in the Umbria region of Italy, around 1460–1500. Deruta was the main centre for maiolica production in the region. Its prominence began in the later fifteenth century, when it became renowned for its golden lustre ware.