Drug Jar

1420-1440 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

'Oak-leaf jars' were produced in Tuscany from the first quarter of the 15th century. They are often decorated with animals, including birds and hares, amongst sprays of oak leaves with dots and stars in the background. They are painted in thick blue pigment called in Italian 'zaffera a rilievo' (relief-blue), a type of decoration used in Tuscany, particularly in the Florentine area ( but also in other regions) from the last third of the 14th century.
This jar was probably made in the same workshop responsible for the series of drug-jars made for the pharmacy of the main hospital in Florence, Santa Maria Nuova. These were traditionally attributed to the workshop of Giunta di Tugio, but new archival evidence suggests that more than one workshop supplied the hospital with ceramics; Maso and Miniato di Domenico could have equally produced these jars, as they are named as suppliers.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Tin-glazed earthenware
Brief description
Drug jar, tin-glazed earthenware, Florence, 1420-40
Physical description
Globular jar with two strap handles, inverted rim and wide mouth; tin-glazed on the outside. Painted in blue and manganese purple. On either side sprays of oak foliage between two notched vertical bands. Around the neck and on the handles are discs, separated by a wavy line.
Dimensions
  • Height: 12.1cm
  • Width: 14.6cm
Gallery label
(16/07/2008)
Drug jar
Florentine area 1425-50
Tin-glazed earthenware

1149-1904
Object history
Purchase: Henry Wallis Collection.
Purchase price note: 1116 to 1151-1904 purchased for £700.
Production
J Mallet
Not in Rackam.
Summary
'Oak-leaf jars' were produced in Tuscany from the first quarter of the 15th century. They are often decorated with animals, including birds and hares, amongst sprays of oak leaves with dots and stars in the background. They are painted in thick blue pigment called in Italian 'zaffera a rilievo' (relief-blue), a type of decoration used in Tuscany, particularly in the Florentine area ( but also in other regions) from the last third of the 14th century.
This jar was probably made in the same workshop responsible for the series of drug-jars made for the pharmacy of the main hospital in Florence, Santa Maria Nuova. These were traditionally attributed to the workshop of Giunta di Tugio, but new archival evidence suggests that more than one workshop supplied the hospital with ceramics; Maso and Miniato di Domenico could have equally produced these jars, as they are named as suppliers.
Bibliographic reference
Elisa Sani, Not in Rackham - 'Italian Renaissance maiolica in the Victoria and Albert Museum – Part 1', in: Keramos 210 (2010), pp. 1-30, cat. 1
Collection
Accession number
1149-1904

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Record createdJuly 16, 2008
Record URL
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