Pilgrim Flask with Marine Scenes

Fontana Workshop; Orazio Fontana

about 1565–1570

Tin-glazed earthenware

J. Paul Getty Museum

A blue and yellow pilgrim flask decorated with marine scenes, featuring figures and sea creatures. The flask has ornate green and orange handles on its sides and a decorative lid. The design of this ceramic pilgrim flask, with its tall tapering neck, screw cover, and flat oval body, reflects the influence of metal pilgrim flasks, which in turn were patterned after the dried gourds travelers used to carry drinking water. The side loops above the horned masks on the sides and the holes cut from either side of the base would never have been used to suspend the Museum's flask; they were retained as decoration and a reminder of the vessel's earlier function. Marine scenes decorate both sides of the flask: one of a triton abducting a nereid and one of two fighting tritons. This exceptionally rich and varied palette