{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O307810"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O307810/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AG8246/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AG8246/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AG8246","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3972","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3973","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3974","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3975","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3976","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL2583","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3977","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3978","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3979","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3980","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3981","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3982","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3983","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HL3985","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KJ4391","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O307810/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O307810","accessionNumber":"201-1904","objectType":"Drug jar","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"Masseot Abaquesne's name appeared for the first time in archives (Rouen, Normandy) in 1526: He lived in Rouen and was called “emballeur” which means that he dealt with packaging all sorts of goods in Rouen harbor. He married Marion Durand, daughter of a potter. In 1538, he becomes godfather of Matiot Le Court, son of a stained-glass painter: He was then referred to as an “emballeur et esmailleur en terre”. He has obviously begun working as a ceramist.\r\nIn 1542, Anne de Montmorency, constable of France, commissioned a pavement for his castle at Ecouen from Abaquesne who created thousands of tiles bearing the arms of his commissioner and his wife, Madeleine de Savoie. The V&A displays some of them. Abaquesne hires potters (Pierre Roullart in 1543) to help him and must have had a quite important workshop in Sainte-Sever at Rouen, the potter’s area. \r\nIn 1545, he was awarded a contract to supply Pierre Dubosc, an apothecary from Rouen, with thousands of drug jars and jugs. In 1546, Abaquesne was in Paris where he seems to have had another workshop (he hired Jehan Godin to help him make a stove). In 1551, he delivered another pavement for Ecouen with patterns close to the designs of Jacques I Androuet du Cerceau (scrolls, arabesques, sphinges).\r\nSome other tiles, maybe wall tiles, can be attributed to him: three panels depicted The Flood (Renaissance museum, Ecouen, France) and two depicted Marcus Curtius and Mucius Scaevola (Condé museum, Chantilly, France). \r\nHis last well-documented commission is the pavement of the chapel of La Bastie d’Urfé (1557) made for Claude d’Urfé, the king’s ambassador at the Trent Council in Italy. Abaquesne died before 1564 as his wife is called widow in an archive dated 1564. \r\n\r\nStyle\r\nWe don’t know where and with whom Abaquesne was trained as a potter and how he learned to make tin-glaze earthenwares. It is possible he trained abroad, in Italy or in Antwerp, or worked with Italian or Dutch ceramists in France. His work betrays the influence both of Italian and Netherlandish tin-glazed earthenwares. That’s why many Netherlandish pavements have been attributed to him (château de Polisy, Chapelle sainte-Croix, cathédrale de Langres ; Château de Fère-en-Tardenois ; tiles from Colombier de Boos ;  tiles from Logis du Roi au Havre…). \r\nPortraiture is a common motif on Italian drug jars at the time. The little waves on the neck and bottom part can be seen on some Netherlandish wares as well (see C.302-1938) and their shape is also quite similar (see. 1093-1905). The portrait is roughly painted with large brushstrokes.\r\nHow can we make the difference between a French and Netherlandish item?  Their clay and glaze are not similar (see Dumortier’s book). The glaze of Antwerp pieces is whiter than Abaquesne’s ones. Chemical analyses could tell us more about that.\n\nSpeculation\r\nAt present, this is the only known drug jar painted by Abaquesne with what appears to be a portrait bust of a monk. However, his other drug jars with male portrait heads show the same lips, prominent chin, small forehead and long, straight nose in their features.\r\n\r\nPharmaceutical jars are usually commissioned for either monastic or religious pharmacies or for an apothecary. In the first case, you can often see the emblem of the congregation/order (see Santa Maria Novella or IHS for Jesuits in a spout jar from musée de Sevres…). No emblem can be seen on Abaquesne’s jars. In 1545, Pierre Dubosc chose to commission jars without any mention of the drugs inside. He could then sell them more easily to pharmacies.\r\nThat does not mean all of the jars have been produced for Dubosc or another apothecary. Some research in Hotel Dieu archives of Lisieux, Rouen may be bring some information\r\n\r\n\r\n","physicalDescription":"Pear-shaped body with spreading foot and mouth, loop handle and short spout. On the front is a profile bust portrait of a monk enclosed within an oval wreath; the remaining surface is painted with foliated scrolls.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Abaquesne, Masseot","id":"AUTH335971"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28690"},"note":"Masséot Abaquesne (around 1500 - before 1564) was a French Renaissance ceramist. Abaquesne is known both for his tiles and his pharmaceutical drug jars. His output was on a relatively large scale and his workshop provided wares for wealthy and noble men such as the constable of France. "}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"earthenware","id":"x29356"},{"text":"tin glaze","id":"AAT233436"}],"techniques":[{"text":"painted","id":"AAT54216"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Tin-glazed earthenware painted in colours","categories":[{"text":"Ceramics","id":"THES48982"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"CER","id":"THES48594"},"images":["2006AG8246","2015HL3972","2015HL3973","2015HL3974","2015HL3975","2015HL3976","2015HL2583","2015HL3977","2015HL3978","2015HL3979","2015HL3980","2015HL3981","2015HL3982","2015HL3983","2015HL3985","2017KJ4391"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"137","id":"THES49876"},"free":"","case":"W1","shelf":"3","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Drug jar","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Rouen","id":"x32531"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1544 - 1550","earliest":"1539-01-01","latest":"1550-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"22.0","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"00/03/2015","earliest":"2015-03-01","latest":"2015-03-31"},"part":"from register","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"16 ","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"00/03/201","earliest":"0201-03-01","latest":"0201-03-31"},"part":"","note":"Measured by hand"},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"19.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"00/03/2015","earliest":"2015-03-01","latest":"2015-03-31"},"part":"","note":"Measured by hand"}],"dimensionsNote":"Measured by hand","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"MAB","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"Masseot Abaquesne","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"monogram below the handle"}],"objectHistory":"Given by J.H. Fitzhenry.\r\n(date?) Note in Register: A similar vase is figured in Coll. Georges Papillon. Sale catalogue, Paris, 10 March 1919, no. 103, pl. facing page 145. The same is figured also in the catalogue of a \"Collection d'un amateur lillois [M. Clainfrannain] sold at Gallerie C. Petit, Paris, 28 May 1923\n\nMasseot Abaquesne's name appeared for the first time in archives (Rouen, Normandy) in 1526: He lived in Rouen and was called “emballeur” which means that he dealt with packaging all sorts of goods in Rouen harbor. He married Marion Durand, daughter of a potter. In 1538, he becomes godfather of Matiot Le Court, son of a stained-glass painter: He was then referred to as an “emballeur et esmailleur en terre”. He has obviously begun working as a ceramist.\r\nIn 1542, Anne de Montmorency, constable of France, commissioned a pavement for his castle at Ecouen from Abaquesne who created thousands of tiles bearing the arms of his commissioner and his wife, Madeleine de Savoie. The V&A displays some of them. Abaquesne hires potters (Pierre Roullart in 1543) to help him and must have had a quite important workshop in Sainte-Sever at Rouen, the potter’s area. \r\nIn 1545, he was awarded a contract to supply Pierre Dubosc, an apothecary from Rouen, with thousands of drug jars and jugs. In 1546, Abaquesne was in Paris where he seems to have had another workshop (he hired Jehan Godin to help him make a stove). In 1551, he delivered another pavement for Ecouen with patterns close to the designs of Jacques I Androuet du Cerceau (scrolls, arabesques, sphinges).\r\nSome other tiles, maybe wall tiles, can be attributed to him: three panels depicted The Flood (Renaissance museum, Ecouen, France) and two depicted Marcus Curtius and Mucius Scaevola (Condé museum, Chantilly, France). \r\nHis last well-documented commission is the pavement of the chapel of La Bastie d’Urfé (1557) made for Claude d’Urfé, the king’s ambassador at the Trent Council in Italy. Abaquesne died before 1564 as his wife is called widow in an archive dated 1564. \r\n\r\nStyle\r\nWe don’t know where and with whom Abaquesne was trained as a potter and how he learned to make tin-glaze earthenwares. It is possible he trained abroad, in Italy or in Antwerp, or worked with Italian or Dutch ceramists in France. His work betrays the influence both of Italian and Netherlandish tin-glazed earthenwares. That’s why many Netherlandish pavements have been attributed to him (château de Polisy, Chapelle sainte-Croix, cathédrale de Langres ; Château de Fère-en-Tardenois ; tiles from Colombier de Boos ;  tiles from Logis du Roi au Havre…). \r\nPortraiture is a common motif on Italian drug jars at the time. The little waves on the neck and bottom part can be seen on some Netherlandish wares as well (see C.302-1938) and their shape is also quite similar (see. 1093-1905). The portrait is roughly painted with large brushstrokes.\r\nHow can we make the difference between a French and Netherlandish item?  Their clay and glaze are not similar (see Dumortier’s book). The glaze of Antwerp pieces is whiter than Abaquesne’s ones. Chemical analyses could tell us more about that.\n\nSpeculation\r\nAt present, this is the only known drug jar painted by Abaquesne with what appears to be a portrait bust of a monk. However, his other drug jars with male portrait heads show the same lips, prominent chin, small forehead and long, straight nose in their features.\r\n\r\nPharmaceutical jars are usually commissioned for either monastic or religious pharmacies or for an apothecary. In the first case, you can often see the emblem of the congregation/order (see Santa Maria Novella or IHS for Jesuits in a spout jar from musée de Sevres…). No emblem can be seen on Abaquesne’s jars. In 1545, Pierre Dubosc chose to commission jars without any mention of the drugs inside. He could then sell them more easily to pharmacies.\r\nThat does not mean all of the jars have been produced for Dubosc or another apothecary. Some research in Hotel Dieu archives of Lisieux, Rouen may be bring some information\r\n\r\n\r\n","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Tin-glazed earthenware painted in blue, yellow and green with a profile bust of a monk. Made by Masseot Abaquesne. France, Rouen, about 1544-1550","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Lane, Arthur, French Faience, London: Faber & Faber, 191?, pl. 2A"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Chompret, Joseph, Les faiences françaises primitives d'après les apothicaireries hospitalières, Paris, éd. Nomis, 1946"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Alexandre-Bidon, Danièle, Dans l'atelier de l'Apothicaire. Histoire et archéologie des pots de pharmacie XIIIe-XVIe siècle, Paris, éd. A&J Picard, 2013"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Cotinat, Louis, “Deux albarels des ateliers de Masséot Abaquesne au feu des enchères”, Revue dhistoire de la pharmacie, 71, n°257, 1983, p. 105-106"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Fourest, Henri-Pierre, Sainte-Fare-Garnot, Pierre-Nicolas, Les pots de pharmacie, Rouen et la Normandie, la Picardie et la Bretagne, Paris, éd. R. Dacosta, 1982"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Guillemé-Brulon, Dorothée, Dauguet, Claire, Les pots de Pharmacie, Paris, éd. Massin, 1987."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hossard, Jean, «Abaquesne, premier faïencier français au service de la pharmacie», Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie, n°139, Paris, [s.n.], 1953, p. 147-151."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Laruelle, Ernest-Joseph, Les apothicaires rouennais : histoire de la corporation du Moyen-Age à la Révolution: contribution à l'histoire de la pharmacie en Normandie, Rouen, éd. Librairie Henri Defontaine, 1920."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Marquet de Vasselot, Jean-Joseph, « Pot de pharmacie offert au Louvre par M. R. Koechlin», Bulletin\r\nde la société nationale des antiquaires de France, Paris, [s.n.], 1904, p. 123.\r\n"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Pots de pharmacie des origines au XIXe siècle, musée national de la Céramique, 1974"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"RP 51/1000"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Nominal File: Fitzhenry, J.H., part 7 (1903-1904) (MA/1/F677/7: (29 Feb 1904) Memo from Wylde: This is a most interesting ewer. It shows very strong Italian influence and bears out the hypothesis that the maker Abaquesne learnt the art of making enamelled pottery from the Italians. It will fill a gap in our collection which is weak in early Rouen faience.\r\n(4 March 1904) Memo from A.B. Skinner to Director: ...We do not know a great deal about Masseot Abaquesne, except that he worked at Rouen in the Italian manner; and up to the present - the only specimen which we could state as being his work were some tiles which came from the Chateau d'Ecouen. This ewer bears a monogram which M. Molinier - the great authority on French art - considers is that of Masseot Abaquesne, and certainly there is no reason to disbelieve him...."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["201-1904"],"accessionNumberNum":"201","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":1904,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2016JE1518"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-05-29","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-24","availableToBook":false}}