Pharmacy Jar with the Arms of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala

Pharmacy Jar with the Arms of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A short ladder surmounted by a cross was the emblem of the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena, where it stood in front of the steps (scala) of the city's cathedral. The hospital also had a branch in Florence, and this work could have served as a drug container in the pharmacy of either location.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pharmacy Jar with the Arms of the Hospital of Santa Maria della ScalaPharmacy Jar with the Arms of the Hospital of Santa Maria della ScalaPharmacy Jar with the Arms of the Hospital of Santa Maria della ScalaPharmacy Jar with the Arms of the Hospital of Santa Maria della ScalaPharmacy Jar with the Arms of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.