Catalan blue and white inscribed albarello, Spain, 18th century

An eighteenth-century Spanish albarello jar produced in Catalonia. The cylindrical body with a slightly waisted profile and broad rim is decorated in blue and white with foliate and floral motifs surrounding a scrolled cartouche inscribed “Se. Carvi,” an abbreviation for Semen Carvi (caraway seed), a medicinal ingredient commonly used in early modern apothecary practice.

The albarello form originated in the Islamic world and became established in European pharmacy practice from the late medieval period onward. In Spain, production centres including Catalonia developed regional variations of tin-glazed earthenware influenced by Italian maiolica and earlier Hispano-Moresque ceramic traditions. Apothecary jars of this type were intended for the storage of dried herbs, seeds, ointments, and medicinal compounds.

The decoration combines a formal inscription panel with freely painted foliate ornament characteristic of Catalan pharmacy ware of the eighteenth century. Comparable Spanish albarelli are preserved in the collections of the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona and the Museo Nacional de Cerámica y Artes Suntuarias González Martí.
It can be displayed individually or alongside related apothecary wares.

Good antique condition.

Height: 29 cm.