Pharmacy Jar for the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova

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Pharmacy Jar for the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova

Artist Workshop of Giunto di Tugio (Italian)

Place of OriginFlorence, Italy

Dateabout 1431

DimensionsH: 12 1/8 in. (30.8 cm)

MediumGlazed earthenware; Maiolica

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1950.224

Not on View

Label TextBoth handles of this jar bear the crutch emblem of the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence, founded by the Portinari family. It is probably one of nearly 1,000 jars ordered in 1431 from the workshop of Giunta di Tugio to store substances used in making medicine. The hospital's archives record the purchase of large numbers of jars for its pharmacy in 1427 from Maso and Miniato di Domenico and in 1431 from Giunta di Tugio. The surviving jars may well come from one or the other of these consignments. Each of the jars is decorated in manganese and a relief-blue pigment containing cobalt (zaffera a rilievo) and features a different heraldic or other type of animal (such as the fish on this example), fleurs-de-lis, and mythical or human figures against an oak leaf background. The meaning of the two asterisks beneath the handle is uncertain. They may be the mark of a decorator, because one, two, or three asterisks occur on other jars of this kind.Published ReferencesG. Conti et al. Zaffera et similia nella maiolica italiana. Viterbo, 1991, p. 257.Exhibition HistoryItalian Art, Royal Academy, London, 1930, Cat. No. 1030.