2-722-529 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Albarello, c. 1450. The albarello —a name of uncertain origin—was a pharmacist's jar used to hold dried herbs or medicinal compounds. It was usually closed by means of a piece of parchment or cloth stretched over its mouth and tied with a string. Its characteristic concave sides offered an easy grip to facilitate handling. This large albarello is one of the best of a small number of exquisitely decorated blue-and-white pieces produced in Tuscany in the mid-1400s.