Albarello Deruta, 1515-1520 Majolica. Height 23... Lot 2

Albarello Deruta, 1515-1520 Majolica. Height 23 cm. Conservation: very good@@@glaze falls at the edge of the foot posteriorly@@ two insignificant felting and a small chipping at the upper edge Apothecary albarello, of slender cylindrical form and slightly tapering in the middle area, having a low foot with a profiled rim and a high everted mouth. On the frontal area, within a circular medallion, bordered by a festoon, is painted a heraldic shield with a horse's head, cut horizontally by a cartouche with the pharmaceutical inscription "ZV°. VIOLATED," and ornamented on the sides with thin ribbons, also taken up in wide spirals on the back of the work. Painted in orange and blue. The work is a sample of crisp executive refinement of Deruta polychrome production of the early sixteenth century. Its dating is corroborated by several dated samples, between 1515 and 1520, in both public and private collections. These are vases whose decoration is mostly concentrated within a circular space, bordered by a festoon composed of long partite leaves, marked in this case with a deep blue, enlivened by bulbs or berries in juicy-looking orange. Over several decades, however, the refined decorative appearance of such pharmaceutical production will become more cursive. The inscription refers to violated sugar, prescribed in ancient pharmacopoeias for coughs and hoarseness