Record details
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- Set of Earthenware Jars and Canisters from the Pharmacy of the Monastery of El Escorial
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- 1565 - 1590
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- Talavera ceramics
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- Alt. 31 cm; Alt. 30.5 cm; Alt. 17 cm
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- Tin-glazed earthenware
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- This set forms part of a remarkable group of Talavera ceramics characterized by the “jaspé on white ground” technique, also known as marbled or variegated decoration. This process involves the application of cobalt oxide stains over a white tin glaze, which are then manipulated—either blown through a straw or dabbed with a sponge or cloth used as a swab—to create irregular, organic patterns on the surface.
These particular examples bear the distinctive emblems of the Hieronymite order, including the hat with tassels, alongside the royal arms and the grill of Saint Lawrence. The decoration combines outline drawing in cobalt blue with polychrome fills: yellow fields, a light blue grill, an orange cap, and a green lion. Circular touches of yellow are scattered across the marbled blue backgrounds, adding vibrancy to the composition.
While comparable canisters are preserved in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, examples of this type of pharmacy jar are rare. This set offers a significant insight into 16th-century Spanish ceramic production and the visual identity of monastic institutions like El Escorial.
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