Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 18-19. (Budapest, 2000)

Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts - Guide to the Exhibition

majolica, on the other hand, is properly applied to a species of Italian ware in which the 'body' is coated with a tin-enamel (white tin glaze), on which is laid and fired a painted decoration. According to some scholars the first time when a tin glaze for pottery took place was about the 9th century in the Near East. The technique was developed in order to provide an imitation of the white porcelain, an imitation which was easily colour-painted as well. This art spread westward through the Islamic lands to Spain and ultimately made its way to Italy. To this Italian type of painted earthenware with white tin glaze came the term maiolica be applied sometime in the 14th century. It has usually been supposed that the name was used for this type of pottery believed to have been made in the island of Mallorca, but it is more probable that the name was given by Italians to the lustred, opaque Spanish earthenware imported by ships coming from the Balearic islands. However, by the 16th century maiolica became a widely used term for all tinglazed earthenware, lustred or not, firstly in Italy but soon in other countries as well. Occasionally it has been also applied to similar wares made in imitation of the Italian ones elsewhere. The non-transparent white tin glaze was an excellent background for the rich colours of the Italian painting — refined in the service of Church art — so they could appear in their full brightness on the apothecary jars. The special value of majolica-painting lies in the delicate brushwork which often reveals a brilliant skill. The glazed cover preserves every single touch for ever, therefore correction is virtually impossible. The second, or fixing firing covers the surface with a never-fading shine and preserves the original radiance of the colours. The shapes of the jars underwent some changes too. The rounded shapes of the albarelli originated also in the Far-East came to be higher and slender, actually like a spindle. Apart from stylistic development, practical reasons might also have contributed to reshaping the jars: a more cylindrical one is more easy to be grasped when taken off from the shelves. Various syrups were kept in lipped jugs. The large, round-shaped vessels with wide orifice contained leaves of herbs or their powdered extracts. We can surely say that the transformation of pharmaceutical jars was a result of the mutual effect of stylistic changes and the development of pharmaceutical technology. The displayed collection of pharmacy jars begins with an albarello decorated with the head of an angel. It was probably produced in a workshop of Palermo about 1600 (No.

4). Next to in there is an oblong albarello from Sicily (Caltagirone

) from the 17th century (No.

5). The jug bearing the antique inscription S.DE.ABSO and decorated with wreaths of leaves against blue background derives from the workshop of Domenico da Venezia (1560-1570) (No.

8). Its counterpart is an oil container from Castel Durante from the beginning of the 17th century (No.l). The cylindrical jar decorated with Fortuna's figure standing on the riverside and labelled DIAMOSCHI is a product of the same workshop but had been manufactured earlier (probably about 1580) (No.

2). Moreover there is an artistic spindle-shaped albarello, produced in Palermo in the 1660s. This is decorated with yellow and brown trofeo design and the figure of the Maiestas domini (No.

3). The 44