PAIR OF UNRECORDED ITALIAN MAIOLICA ALBARELLOS, FROM A SET OF PHARMACY JARS BY ANDREA DI MARCO DI IACOPO DE LE SCINE MADE FOR THE HOSPITAL OF SANTA MARIA DELLA MISERICORDIA, PERUGIA, IN 1565

the cylindrical bodies with swelling at the shoulders and bases, and decorated with bands of yellow armorial trophies on dark blue grounds, enclosing central oval reserves depicting the emblem Ds ME (for Domus Misericordiae House of Pity) surmounted by crosses flanked by trophies, with inscribed labels, the first EL. D.’ GENZNA, the second UNG. D’. B’SILICO, with incised symbols to the base, the first L2 d2 (for ‘libbre’ (pounds) and ‘once’ (ounces), possibly equating to 792.5gm its modern weight when empty), the second L2 d6 (possibly equating to 937.3gm, also its modern weight when empty) (Dimensions: 20.8cm high, 13.6cm wide; 21.5cm high, 13.4cm wide) (Qty: 2)

Provenance:

Provenance: Property from Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian Note: The emblem depicted on the albarellos is still to be found on the buildings which were formally the Hospital of Santa Maria della Misericordia in Perugia. The surviving hospital account books note in 1565 payment for a set of pharmacy vases from the Perugian potter Andrea di Marco di Iacopo delle Scine. These albarellos belong to this commissioned set. Eight others are recorded. Four spouted jars - one in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan, dated 1565, one in the collection of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Perugia, two in private collections, one in Ostra, one in Assisi (Giulio Busti and Franco Cocchi in La Via Della Ceramica Tra Umbria e Marche: Maioliche Rinascimentali da Collezioni Private, 2010, ed. Ettore A. Sannipoli, cat1.23, p104.). Four albarellos similar to these exist, two in the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum Milan, and two, both dated 1565, formerly in the Della Gherardesca Collection (Finarte, Milan, 21-22 Nov, 1963, lot 65). The labels: EL.D.’ GENZNA and UNG.D’.B’SILICO probably refer to an elixir of gentian, and an ointment made from basil, respectively. For reference to the weight of the albarellos please see Timothy Wilson, Maiolica - Italian Renaissance Ceramics in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016, cat30, p116-7. We are grateful to Celia Curnow for writing these entries and to Dr Elisa Sani for confirming her attributions. Dimensions: 20.8cm high