A small Deruta maiolica albarello c.1670

A small Deruta maiolica albarello c.1670, of diminutive waisted form, painted with a small armorial shieldin blue, ochre and yellow, reserved between bands of birds in flight and foliate scrolls in blue, titled beneath with 'Letificant Galen', a faint tight rim crack, 12.7cm.

Laetificans, from the Italian verb meaning 'to gladden', was an electuary with general tonic properties. The Galen at the end of inscription refers to Galen of Pergamon, a notable surgeon and physician during the 2nd century AD.