Pilgrim's travel bottle - decorated ceramics from the 19th century

Today we would like to present to you an original bottle, made from decorated ceramic, dedicated to the traveler and pilgrim.

Round, hollow in the center, with a white background and abstract decorations painted in shades of blue, ochre, and green. The decoration is placed exclusively on the outer side of the shaft. Originating from central Italy, in good condition.

One characteristic of these small terracotta bottles was that they contained water or other liquids necessary to quench thirst during pilgrimages. Compact in size, with a lens-shaped form and capable of being anchored to a belt or carried on the shoulder using a string wrapped around the shaft, inserted into four loops or perforated sockets arranged on the sides.

Therefore, the basic traveler's tool will soon be decorated and enriched with new shapes, both in the plastic of the bottle and in its typology, until specific shapes are found, such as empty bottles in the middle, which thanks to the base equipped with a stand suggest a more decorative function as well as a functional one.

Even the decoration transitions from primitive graffiti with geometric or plant motifs to enamel color schemes or decorations that may feature pictorial patterns according to traditional designs from the era or, in the most popular examples, abstract motifs, as seen in the abstract bottles, almost freeform decorations, in which we like to think that the decorator simply had colors to use or finish with.