Artwork Page for Albarello Jar with an Aphorism

Details / Information for Albarello Jar with an Aphorism

Albarello Jar with an Aphorism

900s

Central Asia, Samarkand, Samanid period

(819–1005)
Medium
Earthenware with underglaze decoration
Measurements
Diameter: 9.7 cm (3 13/16 in.); Overall: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1996.298
Public Domain
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Location
116 Islamic
Print
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Did You Know?

The jar's Arabic inscription written in Eastern Kufic script.

Description

The albarello was a jar designed to hold ointments and drugs for pharmacists. They were produced in the Middle East and Spain, as well as late medieval and Renaissance Italy. Albarellos are usually painted with floral, vegetal, or geometric designs. Arabic inscriptions are less common but here the elegant text reads: “Modesty [comes] from faith, and faith [comes] from Paradise,” attributed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Cylindrical jar with a rim slightly narrower than the body and tall, black Arabic text wrapping around the body (see "Inscriptions"). The background is highly worn, with fine cracks and blotchy white, black, and yellow-brown coloring. The yellow-brown clusters mostly around chips in the glazing.

Albarello Jar with an Aphorism

900s

Central Asia, Samarkand, Samanid period (819–1005)

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