China
Pilgrim Flask (Bian Hu)
INV-1218
ChinaSui (581–618) or early Tang dynasty (618–907), c. late 6th/7th century
Pilgrim Flask (Bian Hu)
China
Chinese (culture or style)earthenwareasian art
Date
Sui (581–618) or early Tang dynasty (618–907), c. late 6th/7th century
Medium
Stoneware with mold-impressed decoration under yellowish-brown lead glaze
Dimensions
24.1 × 20.4 × 12.2 cm (9 1/2 × 8 × 4 13/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection
The flat sides of this canteen-shaped container depict a youthful dancer and a musician who perform above a pair of romping lions. In their costumes and facial features, these performers resemble figures depicted in ancient Hellenistic art. The clarity of their features is partially obscured by a thickly applied glaze, as well as by the dense background of undulating foliage, floral heads, and grapevines. Some of these designs clearly derive from Central Asian metalwork. They may have been transmitted to China as decorative motifs on imported objects or alternatively, as background patterns on Buddhist images that were brought to China or created in China from Central Asian prototypes.
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