Preview
Creation Date
Late 19th or early 20th century
Geography
Afghanistan
Culture
Turkmen
Medium
Silver, Silver shot, copper (oxidation on some of the bangles)
Dimensions
12 × 2.9 × 0.75 in. (30 × 7 × 2 cm)
6.815 oz. (193.2 g)
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020
Accession Number
2020.17
Provenance
Purchased by David P. Harris from Maria Teresa O’Leary (Nuevo Mundo) in Alexandria, Virginia on March 12, 1980.
References
Brad Hostetler, with Ani Parnagian, "From Private to Public: The Collection of David P. Harris," in Ethiopian Objects in the Blick-Harris Study Collection: Art, Context, and the Persistence of Form, eds. Brad Hostetler, and Lynn Jones, Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 5–25. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/
Description
This flask is silver, intricately designed with chains attached to the body via rings that each end in a bangle at the bottom. Each bangle is engraved in lines and an inner pattern that mimics the form of the silhouette. The body of the flask is triangular in form with a conical opening; the flask itself is engraved with semicircles and crosshatched lines, seemingly all done by hand. A long loop chain ends in a circular belt attachment that has a complex fitment with five chain connectors instead of one, divided up by horizontal bands every two units, ending in a cylindrical flask top. Bangles also adorn this part of the chain.
Further Reading
Layla S. Diba, Turkmen Jewelry: Silver Ornaments from the Marshall and Marilyn Wolf Collection (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011).
Hossein Noruzi, and Imanzakariai Kermani, “Concepts of Motifs in Culture: a Review of the Jewelry of Turkmen Women,” Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design 5, no. 2 (2015): 13–26.
Emma Kang ’25, Keiko Behrens ’25, Claire Goldman ’23, Thea Vrentas ’24
Purchase Receipt and Supporting Documents