Pilgrim Flask

Unknown

17th century · Bronze; engraved · Islamic Art

The distinctive shape of this pilgrim flask derives from earlier leather vessels designed to carry water or wine on a journey. This flask has lost its spout and lid, and the three surviving rings suggest that this portable vessel may have also relied on a chain for suspension. The symmetrical, crescent body with volute terminals is a typically Indian shape, known especially through Deccani court painting and metalwork examples from the sixteenth century onward; however, a variation is also known in Chinese porcelain examples exported to the Islamic world. Incised peacock and falcon decorative motifs are common to Indian art in many media, and related pilgrim flasks even include large peacocks as zoomorphic forms in the handles.

Artist

Unknown

Date

17th century

Medium

Bronze; engraved

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Louis E. and Theresa S. Seley Purchase Fund for Islamic Art, 2020