flaska, Porcelain bottle with underglaze blue decoration

This bottle has a wide, dish-shaped mouth that angles sharply into a constricting, short neck. The sides of the body slope down in an almost straight line and bulge in the lower part of the vessel, before constricting abruptly toward the foot. The foot slightly narrows towards the base and slightly undercuts the body. A decorative register encircling the shoulder and two abstract floral designs, perhaps a peony, on each side of the bottle were painted in underglaze cobalt blue. A bluish tinged glaze with many bubble bursts covers the surface. More than half of the surface is darkened by stains. Remains of kiln grit can be seen on the footrim and the base. Many finger marks can be seen in the glaze on the body near the foot. A rope made from plant fibre is tied around the the neck.
This bottle has the characteristic shape of an oil bottle. These bottles were used for storing different types of oils, such as sesame oil or soybean oil, which were used for cooking or as fuel for oil lamps. The mouth was closed with a stopper, and a cord could be tied to the neck of the bottle to hang it on the wall. The wide mouth and the small opening had the function of a funnel when filling the bottle.