392. Flask

Condition

Repaired break at the neck. XRF suggests pieces could go together, and visual inspection supports this, although the neck and the body present slightly different weathering. Iridescence on the exterior; in the grooves and on the interior, incrustation.

Description

Flattened, vertical rim; cylindrical neck. Horizontal shoulder; four-sided body, square in cross section; flat bottom. On the bottom, an annular pontil scar (W. 0.8 cm) is visible. Two sides bear at the center three slightly oblique grooves, dropping to the left. The other two sides are covered with an everted triangle, one short vertical stroke at the center of the top and two short, oblique downward strokes at the center of the sides. The strokes on the left side are placed slightly higher than the ones on the right side of the triangle. Along the bottom, three straight grooves. Thick bottom and lower part of the body form the trapezoid interior of the vessel.

Comments and Comparanda

For other small, square flasks, see comments and comparanda for cat. 390. Small, square flasks with cut decoration are believed to be from Iran, dated in the ninth–tenth centuries (Lamm 1935, pls. 36H, 37C; Carboni 2001, p. 116, no. 2.14; Carboni 2001, pp. 130–133, nos. 2.32a–b, 2.34a); Nishapur (Kröger 1995, p. 150, no. 201, ninth–tenth centuries); Israel Museum (Brosh 2003, p. 367, no. 500).

Provenance

1979, Edwin A. Lipps, 1922–1988 (Pacific Palisades, California), donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1979

Bibliography

Unpublished

Exhibitions

None