A pair of exceptional apothecary jars, dating from the first-half of the 17th century, featuring a mildly concave cylindrical body decorated in cobalt-blue pigment on a tin white enamel ground.
One of the jars is characterised by profuse decoration of exuberant landscape with rocky outcrops and exotic vegetation, from which emerge peonies and an open winged golden eagle, symbol of courage, strength and temerity. This landscape is interrupted by a rectangular oblique cartouche inscribed PIPERIS.LONG in Latin, referring to the Indian Long Pepper. This medicinal plant was prescribed to increase appetite, as well as in the treatment of stomach aches, heartburn, indigestion, bowl wind, diarrhoea and cholera. Associated to other plants was also used in Ayurvedic medicine.
On the other jar the decorative composition is structured in two superimposed sections: on the upper section an exuberant landscape with rocky outcrops and exotic vegetation from which stand out peonies, daisies, camellias and flying birds. The lower section repeats some of the decorative motifs, such as flowering camellias emerging from rock outcrops, as well as other foliage elements and long legged birds, probably royal cranes, symbols of wealth, longevity and heavenly guides. In this case the ornamentation is interrupted by an oblique band with the Latin inscription R. ARISTOL., referring to the root of Aristolochia indica, a medicinal plant recommended in the treatment of flus, as an expectorant, antitussive, antiasthmatic, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory.
On the shoulder of both jars identical bands of cobalt-blue oblique parallel lines, encased by double filleting.
It must be noted that the symbolic value of the iconography described above was most certainly not present in the Lisbon potter’s mind, who replicated it uniquely for its decorative value, ignoring its, most certainly unknown, allegoric interpretation. The magnificent monochrome decorative composition, developed over the white tin glaze surface, reveals the painter artist mastery in working the various pigment densities, which endow the composition with sophisticated pictorial movement and depth, while simultaneously highlighting the qualities of the glaze and of the fine clay. Worthy of note is also the fact that these jars have survived as a pair.


A pair of exceptional apothecary jars, dating from the first-half of the 17th century, featuring a mildly concave cylindrical body decorated in cobalt-blue pigment on a tin white enamel ground.
One of the jars is characterised by profuse decoration of exuberant landscape with rocky outcrops and exotic vegetation, from which emerge peonies and an open winged golden eagle, symbol of courage, strength and temerity. This landscape is interrupted by a rectangular oblique cartouche inscribed PIPERIS.LONG in Latin, referring to the Indian Long Pepper. This medicinal plant was prescribed to increase appetite, as well as in the treatment of stomach aches, heartburn, indigestion, bowl wind, diarrhoea and cholera. Associated to other plants was also used in Ayurvedic medicine.
On the other jar the decorative composition is structured in two superimposed sections: on the upper section an exuberant landscape with rocky outcrops and exotic vegetation from which stand out peonies, daisies, camellias and flying birds. The lower section repeats some of the decorative motifs, such as flowering camellias emerging from rock outcrops, as well as other foliage elements and long legged birds, probably royal cranes, symbols of wealth, longevity and heavenly guides. In this case the ornamentation is interrupted by an oblique band with the Latin inscription R. ARISTOL., referring to the root of Aristolochia indica, a medicinal plant recommended in the treatment of flus, as an expectorant, antitussive, antiasthmatic, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory.
On the shoulder of both jars identical bands of cobalt-blue oblique parallel lines, encased by double filleting.
It must be noted that the symbolic value of the iconography described above was most certainly not present in the Lisbon potter’s mind, who replicated it uniquely for its decorative value, ignoring its, most certainly unknown, allegoric interpretation. The magnificent monochrome decorative composition, developed over the white tin glaze surface, reveals the painter artist mastery in working the various pigment densities, which endow the composition with sophisticated pictorial movement and depth, while simultaneously highlighting the qualities of the glaze and of the fine clay. Worthy of note is also the fact that these jars have survived as a pair.