Flask thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
China, Room 44, The T.T. Tsui Gallery

Flask

910-1000 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This ceramic jar is in the shape of a leather flask and is decorated in applied relief. It was produced in north China during the Liao dynasty (907-1125 AD). The leaders of the Liao dynasty belonged to the Qidan, a nomadic people who originally settled outside the borders of China. The jar imitates in shape and decoration the portable pouches, made of animal skins, used by the nomadic Qidan.
This type of vessel could have been made for the Qidan themselves as a sign of their changed, more sedentary life; or it could have been purchased by the Han Chinese intrigued by the novelty of the shape.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Stoneware, with design of brown spots
Brief description
Flask, stoneware with design of brown spots, China, Liao dynasty (907-1124)
Physical description
This jar is in the shape of a leather flask.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21.6cm
Style
Gallery label
Flask in form of leather bag Liao dynasty 910-1000 The flask imitates a portable pouch, made of animal skin, used by the nomadic Qidan people. Stoneware with white glaze and brown spots Museum no. C.103-1913(2007)
Summary
This ceramic jar is in the shape of a leather flask and is decorated in applied relief. It was produced in north China during the Liao dynasty (907-1125 AD). The leaders of the Liao dynasty belonged to the Qidan, a nomadic people who originally settled outside the borders of China. The jar imitates in shape and decoration the portable pouches, made of animal skins, used by the nomadic Qidan.
This type of vessel could have been made for the Qidan themselves as a sign of their changed, more sedentary life; or it could have been purchased by the Han Chinese intrigued by the novelty of the shape.
Bibliographic reference
Kerr, Rose. Song Dynasty Ceramics. London: V&A Publications, 2004. p. 42, no. 34.
Collection
Accession number
C.103-1913

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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