Jar from the Carulla apothecary in L’Espluga de Francolí, with hand-painted decorations. Museum of Rural Life.
The jar is one of the simplest ceramic vessels. It is usually made up of a cylindrical body with an edge. The earliest known ceramic jars were crafted in the region of Mesopotamia in the northern part of what is Iran today in the 12th century.
In Catalonia, the oldest ceramic jar with writing (telling what is inside it) dates from the second half of the 16th century and was found in the monastery of Pedralbes (Barcelona).
Apothecaries placed huge orders of jars from the potters, the people who make bowls, plates and ceramic ware in general.
