Pilgrim Flask

This shape, taken from the Near Eastern ceramic repertoire, is executed in Cypriot White Painted Ware. Lentoid flasks, also called Pilgrim flasks, were thought to have contained precious liquids which were carried by pilgrims. The original containers were made of skin; subsequently they are thought to have been made of a combination of skin and wood, before finally being recreated in the Late Bronze Age as a ceramic form. They are seen with one, two, or three handles; this flask has lost one of its two handles. A small air hole is visible at the base of the neck on the right to facilitate pouring.