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East Asia, China, Liao Dynasty, ca. 907 to 1124 CE. An attractive pottery pilgrim’s flask, modeled after a leather prototype to feature a pouch-shaped body with pronounced seams. The ancient vessel is molded and carved on the 2 broad sides with a foliate ornament intended to resemble a cockscomb flower, hence the example also being called a “cockscomb flask.” The flattened top is surmounted by 2 raised lugs and a tubular spout with a conical cover. Flasks like this one were intended to mimic the appearance of leather pouches carried by Khitan travelers in northern China and Mongolia during the Liao dynasty. Size: 2.5″ L x 4.4″ W x 8.2″ H (6.4 cm x 11.2 cm x 20.8 cm)
Cf. Philadelphia Museum of Art (1923-21-584, 1923-21-585, 1923-21-270, 1923-21-271, and 1923-21-269), British Museum (1938,0524.3), Art Institute of Chicago (1987.243), and National Museum of Korea (Gu 3179).
A similar pair of Liao dynasty pottery flasks hammered $8,750 at Christie’s Online on March 25th, 2015 (lot 8040, “The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Volume VII: Chinese Works of Art”).
Condition: Some small chips, nicks, and abrasions, all commensurate with age, but otherwise intact and excellent with nice remaining glaze.
Provenance: ex-Phoenicia Holyland Antiquities, New York, New York, USA, acquired 1970s to 2000s
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