Earthenware albarello, painted in blue in, and with two tones of lustre over, an opaque, white glaze
Both faience and the lustre technique reached Muslim Spain from Iraq by way of Egypt. In the middle of the 13th century, high-quality lustreware was made in Malaga, from which it spread with Muslim craftsmen to Christian Spain. This “Spanish-Moorish” pottery was exported e.g. to Italy, where it was called majolica or faience, after the island Mallorca and the town of Faenza.
A jar with concave sides is called an albarello, probably from the Spanish-Arabic word al-barrada – a jug. The type was most often used in pharmacies, since the shape made it easy to grasp the jars even when they stood in lines.
A jar with concave sides is called an albarello, probably from the Spanish-Arabic word al-barrada – a jug. The type was most often used in pharmacies, since the shape made it easy to grasp the jars even when they stood in lines.