Rare, gently concaving, 17th century Portuguese faience apothecary

jar, decorated in cobalt-blue pigment on tin-white enamel.

On the body a composition with two large open winged cranes on rocky outcrops, close to a balustrade, a common model in depictions of Chinese gardens. In the dense and exotic surrounding landscape stand out a lotus flower and two exuberant camellias. The composition is encased by bands of Greek key patterns framed by filleting on the shoulder and base.

The crane is one of the most emblematic birds in Chinese culture, which the Portuguese potter replicated without fully understanding its underlying cultural and symbolic values. In China, this animal holds immense religious significance due to its association with longevity and was highly valued by Emperor Jiajing, who organized various religious ceremonies for the ‘summoning of cranes’. Many works featuring this motif are displayed in the Forbidden City Museum in Beijing[1]. This crane, with open wings, slender legs, and an inspiring sense of freedom, is perhaps the Portuguese faience representation that most closely resembles Chinese depictions[2].

The Greek key friezes framing this apothecary jar’s composition are common to both European and Chinese art and frequently appear on Portuguese faience pieces from the 17th century. As mentioned previously, it is pertinent to inventory pieces with this ‘Greek key band’ decorative element, which may indicate a decorative family associated with the same ceramics workshop that applied this design to the object’s neck and base.

Due to its high decorative quality and refinement, this apothecary jar was likely acquired by the apothecary of an important monastery or by a scholarly family of significant social status.

Note:

The Portuguese production of apothecary jars is mainly attributed to the Lisbon and Coimbra potteries, from the second half of the 16th century onwards, as credited by the 1572 Regimento dos Oleiros, the Statute of Potters, which refers an example dated 1589 that belonged to the collection of the Count of Ameal[3].

Bibliography:

CASIMIRO, Tânia Manuel, Faiança Portuguesa nas Ilhas Britânicas dos finais do século XVI aos inícios do século XVIII, Dissertação de Doutoramento em História, especialidade arqueologia apresentada a FCSU-UNL, Lisboa 2010 (texto policopiado).

CASIMIRO, Tânia Manuel, “Faiança portuguesa: datação e evolução crono-estilística” in Revista Portuguesa de Arqueologia, Vol. 16, 2013.

GRIFFENHAGEN, Georg B., BOGARD, Mary, Histoy of Drug Containers and their Labels, American Institute of The History of Pharmacy Madisson, WI, 1999.

MO GUO, A inspiração chinesa nos temas da faiança portuguesa do século XVII, Dissertação de Doutoramento, Universidade de Aveiro, 2019.

MONCADA, Miguel Cabral de, Faiança Portuguesa, Séc. XVI a Séc. XVIII, Scribe, Lisboa 2008.

MONTEIRO, João Pedro, A Influência Oriental na Cerâmica Portuguesa do Século XVII, (cat.), Lisboa Capital Europeia da Cultura 94 / Milão Electa, 1994.

PAIS, Alexandre Nobre, Fabricado no Reino Lusitano o que antes nos vendeu tão caro a China: a produção de Faiança em Lisboa, entre os reinados de Filipe II e D. João V, Dissertação de Doutoramento em Artes Decorativas, Universidade Católica, Escola das Artes, Porto 2012.

QUEIRÓS, José, Cerâmica Portuguesa e Outros Estudos, Ed. Presença (4.ª ed.), Lisboa 2002.

TORRES, Joana Bento, Quotidianos no Convento de São Francisco de Lisboa, Mestrado em Arqueologia, F.C.S.H./ Universidade Nova Lisboa, 2011.

[1] MO GUO, 2019, pp. 61-63.

[2] IDEM, Ibidem

[3] Queiroz, José, 2002, fig. 15