Bargello, Florence, has been described as "probably
referring to the pharmacy [to which the jar] belonged."^31
The most recent attempt to identify the B° mark—
by associating it with a potter active in Urbino—is not
credible.^32 It has also been suggested that the B or B°
mark might refer to the names Betini and Bolognesi,
which are inscribed on the hexagonal tiles in the
Cappella San Sebastiano (also called Cappella Vaselli
after its patron) of San Petronio, Bologna.^33 There is
no indication that the San Petronio floor and the B/B°
albarelli were produced by the same hand or even in the
same workshop.
A previous attempt, in the late 1980s, was made
to link the B/B° set with ceramics from another center
of production: Castelli d'Abruzzo.^34 This proposition is
based on the similarity between the drug jars' form,
palette, and decorative motifs and those of works of the
"Orsini-Colonna" typology, recently and convincingly
attributed to Castelli.^35 The association of the "Orsini-
Colonna" group with the Getty albarelli is unpersuasive.
To aid in attributing these jars to a specific center,
jar .2 underwent neutron activation analysis in spring
2001 under the direction of scientist Michael Hughes,
formerly of the British Museum, London. The analysis
was carried out at the University of Missouri Research
Reactor, and the data was compared against the British
Museum database.^36 The results of the analysis show
that the clay of this jar originated from the lower
mid-Arno Valley, most likely from either Deruta or
Montelupo. To help determine attribution, stylistic
comparisons were made between these two jars and with
ceramics securely attributed to both centers.
Examples of ceramics that have been excavated from
Montelupo kiln sites display certain characteristics that
can be found on B/B° jars or on jars related to that set.
These characteristics include geometric incised blue
decoration similar to that found on the Wadsworth
Atheneum jar,-^37 floral rosettes similar to those on
the Museo Nazionale della Ceramica "Duca di Martina"
and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica examples,-^38
geometric ornament and small tufts of grass in the
background similar to those found on many B/B° ex
amples,-^39 the so-called "nodo orientale" found on a jar
closely related to the B/B° set,-^40 and variegated stripes
running horizontally through border decoration that
appears on a number of B/B° jars.^41 Of potential interest
is a Montelupo fruit bowl in the Musee National de
Ceramique, Sevres, that, although of a very different
type than these pharmacy jars, is likewise marked with
B° on the reverse.^42
However, the same type of geometric border patterns
also appears on shards found at Deruta excavation sites
and related plates,-^43 more significantly, the unusual and
beautifully rendered figures on such B/B° examples as
the jars in Rome and Hartford seem to relate very closely
to the work of the so-called Master of the San Francesco
pavement from Deruta.^44
Of the four pieces in the Getty's collection that have
eluded attribution and were, therefore, subjected to neu
tron activation analysis, three were determined to origi
nate from the lower mid-Arno Vallery, in particular,
from Deruta or Montelupo. The preponderance of this
unusual attribution among the least-understood works
in the collection indicates not only that there is much
work to be done to better understand the ceramics from
these centers of production, but also that there appears
to have been much "cross-pollination" of styles and pos
sibly also movement of potters between these two cen
tral Italian towns.126 Two Jars