Pharmacy Jar

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pharmacy jars used for spices and drugs were a specialty of Valencian potters during the 1400s. Their shape—tall and slender without handles or spouts—made them easy to store, while the wide mouth provided ready access to their contents. A parchment label (attached with a string) would have indicated their contents.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art