Drug jar

14th century

Islamic potters took this shape from a column of bamboo, the traditional Indonesian containers for medicines. As the tin-glazed tradition moved into Moorish Spain and then into Italy, drug jars retained this form. The calligraphy is typical for the regions of North Africa or Spain.

Earthenware with white slip and glaze

12 x 4 3/4 in. (30.5 x 12.1 cm)

Girth: 23 1/2 in.

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

60.44

Provenance: J.J. Klejman (1906-1995); Richard Fuller (1897-1976), Seattle, Washington, by 1960; by gift to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1960

Photo: Paul Macapia

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Museum: Mixed Metaphors, Fred Wilson, Jan. 28 - June 13, 1993. Text by Patterson Sims. No cat. no., reproduced p. 35.

Published ReferencesArt Quarterly 24, no. 1 (Spring 1961): p. 93, ill.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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