flaska, Porcelain bottle with underglaze blue decoration

This bottle has a wide, dish-shaped mouth that angles sharply into a constricting, short neck. The waterdrop-shaped body has gently curved sides and bellies-out in the lower part of the vessel, before constricting again toward a straight foot. The foot slightly undercuts the body. The surface is decorated with two faint plant or flower designs in underglaze blue placed in juxtaposed positions. The greyish-blue tinged glaze is partly crackled and has bubble bursts. The footrim is covered with remains of kiln grit. A rope is tied around the bottle at the neck. The surface is partly covered with a yellowish substance, probably residue.
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.