Italy, Papal States, Faenza / c. 1500–1510
Pharmacy Bottle
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Pharmacy Bottle as ceramic (Italy, Papal States, Faenza · c. 1500–1510).
The peacock feather design lining the bottom of this bottle was especially popular in Faenza, near Bologna, during the Renaissance.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica).
The museum's collection notes: 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.”
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPharmacy BottleOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.