This jar is a classic example of Florentine maiolica of the first half of the fifteenth century. It is decorated with a hound amidst oak leaves, executed in a glossy blue cobalt glaze outlined in purple-brown manganese pigment. Painted on each handle of the jar is a crutch, symbol of the Florentine Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, one of the great institutions of the city, founded in 1288. This jar was made for the hospital’s pharmacy.