Description: English delft, undecorated albarello-shaped ointment pot with an everted rim, cylindrical center and flared footrim, which according to Jonathan Horne (during a 1/23/1995 visit) could be early 17th century. In the latter part of the 17th century, concave sides give way to straight and eventually rounded convex forms. Ointment pots, which varied in size and shape, dispensed sticky or semi-liquid preparations sold by apothecaries, grocers, perfumers, etc., who often had their names and sometimes addresses inscribed on them when they ordered them in quantity from delftware factories. These pots are normally bowl-shaped with an everted rim, which could be covered with parchment secured with a string tied around the indentation below the rim. Around 1800, these delft pots were replaced with glass containers, cardboard-lined boxes, and chip boxes made of handcut wood shavings.
Link to share this object record: https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+55.033 |