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Image Not Available for Drug jar (albarello)
Drug jar (albarello)
Image Not Available for Drug jar (albarello)

Drug jar (albarello)

Dateca. 1550-1600
Label TextIn the 10th and 11th centuries, Indonesia enjoyed a sophisticated horticulture and understanding of the use of medicinal drugs. By the 14th century, when Islam conquered Indonesia, the knowledge moved west with the Islamic armies and enhanced medical practices in Europe. This jar takes its shape from a column of bamboo, the traditional Indonesian containers for medicaments. This jar held an elixir of psyllium, or fleawort, a laxative. Mesue (Ibn Masawayh in Arabic) was a Persian physician born 777 A.D. He composed a considerable number of Arabic medical works covering topics such as fevers, leprosy, melancholy, eye diseases, and aphorisms. His most famous work was Daghal al-ain (Disorder of the Eye), and his book on aphorisms was very popular in the Middle Ages through its Latin translation. He also translated Greek medical works into Syriac and studied and wrote about aromatics, both their physical properties, and their pharmacological effects.
Object number51.29
Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection
Dimensions9 7/8 x 15 3/4 x 4 1/4 in. (25.1x 40 x 10.8cm)
MediumMaiolica
Plate
16th century
Object number: 56.165
Photo: Paul Macapia
Italian (Genoa)
ca. 1530-50
Object number: 55.29
Plate
1535
Object number: 57.49
Two-handled vase
ca. 1530-40
Object number: 54.84
Plate
ca. 1555-1565
Object number: 56.268
Photo: Scott Leen
ca. 1550-70
Object number: 56.267
Jug
Persian
late 12th century
Object number: 50.93
Plate
1516 - 1576
Object number: 57.50
Double-handled jar
ca. 1600 - 10
Object number: 48.33
Plate
ca. 1535-1540
Object number: 57.51
Plate
mid-17th century
Object number: 57.52