Albarello
- Gallery: Room 46
- Culture: Marches, The
- Made in: Marches, The (probably); Pesaro (?); Urbino, Duchy of (historic) (?)
- Date: 1470-1500 (circa)
- Object type: albarello
- Materials: earthenware
- Museum number: 1885,0508.21
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
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About this object
Before you stands an albarello, a small pharmaceutical jar from the late 15th century. Created in the Marches region of Italy, this tin-glazed earthenware jar is painted with striking imagery. One side features a hooded figure—possibly a monk—facing a nun, with a scroll reading “HUMILITAS ALTA PETIT,” meaning “Humility seeks high things” in Latin. On the opposite side, a young woman with a covered head faces a man in a peaked hat—likely a nobleman.
The figures are bordered by floral designs and elegant lozenge patterns around the base, echoing motifs found in Chinese porcelain from the period. The jar’s foot is marked with Gothic script: “sy. de. fumoterre,” a Latin reference to syrup made with fumitory, a medicinal herb.
This albarello is part of a rare group of similarly styled jars, possibly linked to a single workshop or set. Though its origins are still debated, the craftsmanship and painted decoration reflect the fine artistry of Renaissance Italy.
See it in person
Albarello is on display in Room 46 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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