Terracotta Traveler's Flask from the 1800s, lenticular in shape, convex on the outer side and flat on the inner side, without a base and with two lateral handles for the cord (one with a partial break). The terracotta is glazed in an ivory, greenish, marbled color with a more intense green. Central Italy, 1800s.
These small terracotta flasks had the particularity of containing water or other liquids necessary to quench the thirst of pilgrims during their movements. They are relatively small in size, lenticular in shape, and can be attached to the belt or carried over the shoulder by means of a cord that was passed around the flask and threaded through four handles or perforated sockets placed on the sides.
Thus, the essential tool for travelers was soon decorated and enriched with new forms, both in the shape of the flask and in its typology, until finding particular forms such as flasks that are empty in the center, which, being equipped with a base, suggest a more decorative than functional purpose.
The decoration also evolved from primitive graffiti with geometric or floral motifs to enamel coloring or pictorial decoration according to the usual patterns of the period; or, in the more popular examples, of an abstract nature, as in the case of flasks with abstract, almost random decoration, in which we like to think that the decorator simply had colors to use or finish.
Height: 19 cm - Width: 15.5 cm - Depth: 6.2 cm
Art. A1061h
