Pilgrim Flask (Bian Hu) (Sui (581–618) or early Tang dynasty (618–907), c. late 6th/7th century): Artwork and History

Pilgrim Flask (Bian Hu) (Sui (581–618) or early Tang dynasty (618–907), c. late 6th/7th century) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as China.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

The flat sides of this canteen-shaped container depict a youthful dancer and a musician who perform above a pair of romping lions. In their costumes and facial features, these performers resemble figures depicted in ancient Hellenistic art. The clarity of their features is partially obscured by a thickly applied glaze, as well as by the dense background of undulating foliage, floral heads, and grapevines. Some of these designs clearly derive from Central Asian metalwork. They may have been transmitted to China as decorative motifs on imported objects or alternatively, as background patterns on Buddhist images that were brought to China or created in China from Central Asian prototypes.

Object facts

• Title: Pilgrim Flask (Bian Hu)
• Date: Sui (581–618) or early Tang dynasty (618–907), c. late 6th/7th century
• Artist attribution: China
• Place of origin: China
• Medium: Stoneware with mold-impressed decoration under yellowish-brown lead glaze
• Dimensions: 24.1 × 20.4 × 12.2 cm (9 1/2 × 8 × 4 13/16 in.)
• Type: Vessel
• Department: Arts of Asia
• Reference number: 1924.270

Collection credit

Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.