Maiolica Pharmacy Bottle

A small Italian maiolica pharmacy bottle, probably late 17th or early 18th century, decorated in a palette of ochre, cobalt blue, and manganese. The globular body bears a hand-painted medicinal inscription framed by stylized Baroque ornament. Originally intended to contain herbal or pharmaceutical preparations, the vessel retains the honest wear, glaze crazing, and softened surface expected of an object that spent centuries in use within an apothecary setting.