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ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY SPADE-SHAPED STONEWARE FIELD FLASK / CANTEEN
MATERIAL: HEAVY VITRIFIED STONEWARE | HAND-DIPPED SLIP GLAZE
Up for sale is an original, beautifully preserved 19th to early 20th-century antique utilitarian folk pottery drinking flask. Featuring a highly distinctive asymmetrical profile, this heavy stoneware canteen narrows from a wide, robust shoulder down to a tapered, spade-shaped base. The hand-formed flat faces were engineered to prevent the vessel from rolling when laid horizontally in a pack or on the ground.
TECHNICAL & MATERIAL EVIDENCE OF AGE:
- Hand-Luted Neck Seam: Displays a prominent, manual joining ring at the base of the neck where the separately thrown neck was luted onto the hand-patted body.
- Tool-Flattened Surfaces: The face features distinct undulations, creases, and shallow facets indicative of old-world wooden paddle-shaping before firing.
- Hand-Dipped Glaze Behavior: Coated in a heavy, opaque white slip glaze applied via traditional immersion dipping. The glaze displays an appealing, organic "orange peel" dimpled texture and micro-pitting from gases escaping the unrefined clay in a high-heat kiln.
- Primitive Underside: The unglazed base reveals a raw, recessed clay foot showing heavy, authentic kiln-floor wear, dark wood/coal firing ash discoloration, and embedded grit scars consistent with a primitive firing environment.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Type: Antique Utilitarian Field Flask / Pocket Canteen / Drinking Bottle
- Material: Heavy-walled vitrified stoneware
- Estimated Era: Circa 1840 - 1910
- Height: Approximately 8 inches
- Width: Approximately 5 inches (at widest shoulder point)
- Weight: 2 lbs 9.6 oz (2.6 lbs) — Exceptionally dense, thick-walled construction
VINTAGE CONDITION REPORT:
- The heavy stoneware body is in excellent structural condition with no cracks, major structural fractures, or modern repairs.
- The hand-dipped white glaze remains stable with excellent vintage contrast and natural, age-appropriate texture.
- The unglazed underside retains all original firing grit, carbon tracking, and friction scars from the period kiln shelf.
- Please review all high-resolution photos carefully to evaluate the exact structural geometry, glaze draping, and firing markers.
SHIPPING & HANDLING DETAILS:
We specialize in shipping fragile historical assets, heavy estate pottery, and unique antiques. This dense stoneware flask will be meticulously wrapped in layers of thick bubble wrap, surrounded by dense packing material to eliminate all movement, and shipped securely in a heavy-duty box with full insurance and tracking.
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