Pharmacy Jar (Albarello) (c. 1550–70): Art, History and Details

Pharmacy Jar (Albarello) (c. 1550–70) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Domenego da Venezia (Italian).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Depictions of ancient myths were a popular subject for ceramic decoration during the Renaissance. This pharmacy jar features the myth of Perseus and Andromeda. According to Greek mythology, a sea monster was sent to destroy the kingdom of Ethiopia after Queen Cassiopeia offended the sea nymphs. To appease the gods, Andromeda was chained to a rock and offered as a sacrifice to the monster. Before the creature could devour her, Perseus flew in on his winged horse and slayed the beast.

Object facts

• Title: Pharmacy Jar (Albarello)
• Date: c. 1550–70
• Creator attribution: Domenego da Venezia (Italian)
• Culture: Italy, Venice
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
• Dimensions: Overall: 28.9 x 16.5 cm (11 3/8 x 6 1/2 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 1920.421

A detail from the museum

Featuring a fashionably clad gentleman’s torso, this pharmacy jar displays the coat of arms of the Hercolani family, who made their fortune dealing in textiles for men’s clothing.

Collection credit

Gift of J. H. Wade

Further reading listed by the museum

• Francis, Henry Sayles. Venetian Tradition: Catalogue of the Exhibition. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1956.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.