17th.Century Italian Maiolica Albarello, Castelli Abruzzo. Dateable to Circa.1660, polychrome decoration with a coat of arms enclosed within a fruiting and floral wreath above a drug label inscribed in blue 'ERMODATTILI', on a base of painted gadroons and concentric circles, 21 cms high, some historic repair.
Ermodattili (Hermodactyls), refers to a bulbous root traditionally used in historic pharmacy to treat joint pain and gout.
Other examples from the same apothecary are recorded: see D. Coppola et al., Three centuries of majolica di Castelli, 1500- 1700, 2015, no. 49. A comparable example is in the Wellcome Collection.
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