Name of Object:

Pilgrim bottle fragment

Location:

London, England, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

British Museum

 About British Museum, London

Date of Object:

Hegira 6th–7th century / AD 12th–13th century

Museum Inventory Number:

1902.5-19.11

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Unglazed, moulded earthenware.

Dimensions:

Length 21 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ayyubid

Provenance:

Aleppo, Syria.

Description:

An unglazed fragment from the flat side of a pilgrim bottle, with part of the depiction of an archer on horseback moulded in low relief. An idea of the original shape can be obtained from a number of pilgrim bottles that survive intact. The bottle would have been shaped like a drum with a spout attached at the top, circular in shape with two flat sides and two handles on the rounded edge. Due to their similarity with vessels brought back from the Holy Land by Western pilgrims these vessels are usually termed 'pilgrim bottles'. Unglazed pottery was used for storing water as the porous clay was especially efficient at keeping water cool, particularly important on long journeys.

View Short Description

A fragment from an unglazed earthenware pilgrim bottle showing part of the depiction of an archer on horseback. These bottles, used for carrying water, were termed pilgrim bottles due to their similarity to vessels brought back from the Holy Land by Western pilgrims.

How date and origin were established:

Comparable fragments have been found in excavations in Syria that can be dated to this period.

How Object was obtained:

Acquired by the British Museum in 1902.

How provenance was established:

There were workshops for these unglazed bottles at a number of locations in Syria. Moulds and kilns have been found in Damascus and Hama. This fragment was found at a factory site in Aleppo.

Selected bibliography:

L'Orient de Saladin au temps des Ayyoubides, exhibition catalogue, Paris, 2001, cat no.131-134, p.152-3 (for similar bottles in the National Museum, Damascus).

Citation of this web page:

Emily Shovelton "Pilgrim bottle fragment" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus01;16;en

Prepared by: Emily Shovelton
Copyedited by: Mandi Gomez


MWNF Working Number: UK1 19