Albarello

The albarello has a cylindrical shape that tapers slightly towards the bottom, with parallel blue lines separating the body from the shoulder and the foot. Two twisted handles are placed on the shoulder and extend to the beginning of the foot. In the centre of the container, within an undecorated square, is the letter "B" in gothic characters. The shoulder features a "mounded" motif, which was commonly used in majolica during the late fifteenth century. 
Although initially attributed to Faenza workshops, this unique container is truly a product of Deruta workshops from the second half of the fifteenth century, evident in its shape and decoration. It represents majolica transitioning from medieval traditions to the modern age. 
The National Museum of Palazzo Venezia has a similar two-handled albarello, featuring ribbon handles and decorated with the letters “A” and “B” (inv. 221).
Containers of this type were manufactured with variations in handle design, including twisted, crested, or ribbon-shaped forms. For purposes of comparison, we can refer to an example housed at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (Poole 1995, no. 250) and three examples documented by Chompret in the Répertoire de la majolique italienne (figs. nos. 372–374). 
To further verify the attribution to Deruta workshops, it may be beneficial to analyze the fragments discovered in Deruta at the historical furnace waste outlets (Busti, Cocchi 1987, pp. 14–20).
The work in question has never been displayed before.

Luca Pesante

Good.

Chompret Joseph, Repertoire de la majolique italienne, Milano 1986, figg. nn. 372-374;
Busti Giulio, Cocchi Franco, Prime considerazioni su alcuni frammenti da scavo in Deruta, in «Faenza», 73, 1987, pp. 14-21;
Poole Julia E., Italian Maiolica and Incised Slipware in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Cambridge 1995.