Storage jar (albarello) for mostarda

Storage jar (albarello) for mostarda

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In addition to medicines and small household items, Renaissance pharmacies also sold candies, spices, and condiments, such as the pickled fruit jelly (mostarda) that once filled this jar. The decoration of this albarello includes a surprise that would be visible only when the jar was taken from the shelf and placed upon the counter: a still life on the back depicting the tools necessary for the preparation of the mostarda.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Storage jar (albarello) for mostardaStorage jar (albarello) for mostardaStorage jar (albarello) for mostardaStorage jar (albarello) for mostardaStorage jar (albarello) for mostarda

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.