A TWO-HANDLED VASE, MONTELUPO, SECOND HALF 17TH CENTURY TWO-HANDLED VASE, MONTELUPO, SECOND HALF 17TH CENTURY majolica decorated in polychrome with blue, blue, green, yellow, yellow-orange and manganese brown; h. cm 31,2, diam. of mouth cm 12,2, diam. of foot cm 13 Comparative literature F. Berti, Storia della ceramica di Montelupo , III, Montelupo 1997, p. 319 nn. 207-209; F. Berti, La farmacia storica fiorentina. I "fornimenti" in maiolica from Montelupo (secc. XV-XVIII), Florence 2010, p. 97 figs. 80-82; M. Marini, G. Piccardi, Vasellame farmaceutico con emblema Medici e altre possibili dotazione di corte , in " Unguenta solis. Ceramica da farmacia tra medioevo e età moderna", Proceedings of the XLI International Ceramics Conference, Savona 2008, pp. 63-82 The apothecary jar has an ovoid body, a wide, everted mouth and a base with a disc foot. Two plastic 'dragon'-shaped handles, painted in polychrome, protrude from the sides, while the spout for spilling liquids, decorated with a small painted mask, rises at the top. The entire surface of the vases is painted with a Raphaelesque decoration with large figures, interrupted on the front by a heraldic emblem referring to the Medici-Hapsburg family. Below the pharmaceutical cartouche in an architectural frame with decorations in touches of green and yellow bears the inscription in capital letters S.D.ISAPI . The Raphaelesque decoration has been analysed by Fausto Berti, who emphasises how the decorative fabric has only accessory aspects in common with contemporary and previous products from Urbino, in perfect harmony with the pictorial tradition of Montelupo, which was inclined to interpret its canons with its own, original style. "Larger figures," writes Berti in this regard, "at times almost excessive, are painted by resorting to single dusting; every retouching and figurative filling is executed freehand, played according to the absolute, free interpretation of a compositional canvas that is inspired by the late Mannerist and Baroque frescoes on a white background that cover the walls of the Florentine palaces, starting with that of the Signoria". In this regard, special attention should be paid to the so-called Medici foundry, to which the emblem on the front of the vase refers. The Florentine court had in fact had its own pharmacy since 1540 for internal needs, but it also made preparations available with a clear propagandistic intent. This activity lasted for about two centuries, but the actual apothecary's shop was only organised between 1634 and 1636, first reserved in an attic and then expanded to three floors from 1672 onwards. A detailed study on this has been provided by Marino Marini, who, through the various ceramic cores over time and through the analysis of the emblems, provides valuable information for the definition of this work. The emblem not surmounted by a crown dates back to the Medici-Habsburg period, when Montelupese production dedicated to rulers was particularly vast, with particularly diversified furnishing in terms of decoration and not necessarily intended for the Palace, but perhaps also for other residences that hosted the family.