Italy, Siena / c. 1510
Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Pharmacy Jar (Albarello) as ceramic (Italy, Siena · c. 1510).
The scroll along the bottom reads DIA IRIS, indicating that it may have once held a medicinal iris compound.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica).
The museum's collection notes: 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. This particular storage jar depicts a child riding a wild boar.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPharmacy Jar (Albarello)Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.