Lenticular-shaped Pilgrim's Flask without a base, featuring four lateral handles (one of which is missing). It has a white background with floral decorations in shades of green, ochre, and blue. The flask is in good condition, dates back to the second half of the 1800s, and originates from the Emilia-Romagna region.
These small terracotta flasks were specifically designed to hold water or other liquids necessary for pilgrims to quench their thirst during their travels. Relatively small in size and lenticular in shape, they could be attached to a belt or worn over the shoulder using a cord that was passed around the flask and through four handles or perforated grips located on the sides.
Thus, the essential tool for the traveler was soon decorated and enriched with new forms, both in the flask's shape and its typology, eventually leading to particular shapes such as flasks that were empty in the center. Equipped with a base, these suggest a more decorative than functional purpose.
The decoration also evolved from primitive engravings with geometric or floral motifs to enamel coloring or pictorial decoration, following the usual models of the period. In more popular examples, abstract designs prevail, as in the case of flasks with abstract decoration, almost random in nature, in which we like to think that the decorator simply had certain colors to use or finish using.
Height: 21 cm - Width: 15 cm - Depth: 5.2 cm
Art. A1061g
Measures H x L x P 21 x 15 x 5.2