Pharmacy jar with subjects from The Campaigns of Julius Caesar

With both painted and sculpted ornament, this monumental vessel blurs the line between decorative and functional. Vignettes from the life of Julius Caesar appear within two central roundels surrounded by coats of arms and grotesque designs created in imitation of ancient Roman art. This vessel comes from the most elaborate and extensive set of Renaissance pharmacy jars to survive, most of which remain in situ in Roccavaldina, Sicily.

Credit: The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931