Evidently the pottery bottle is not glazed inside. When I asked, the owner replied " It almost feels like the outside but as you can see my hand does not fit and there is no markings on it anywhere."
Regarding some of the previous suggestions:
I agree this bottle is somewhat amphora shaped (see it again at https://www.dropbox.com/s/0b2iatnvu3i5w9t/Pointed-bottom%20pottery%20bottle.pdf?dl=0) but it's my understanding most amphoras are larger than this one (which I estimate is 7 to 8 inches tall, about 2 inches diameter at the lip, and maybe 2½ to 3 inches maximum diameter), have two handles, and were used for holding wine, oil, or other liquids.
The shape of bottle’s opening – starting about 1 inch in diameter and tapering in sharply to a small round aperture that appears to be a half-inch or less in diameter – could easily hold a stopper in place. The aperture is too small for the vase to be practical as a cremation urn or to hold objects larger than the aperture. If it were meant to be used with a stopper, I think David Snow’s suggestion it “was used to hold/transport w/stopper, some sort of liquid” is a good one.
The “cemetery vase” explanation seems unlikely to me, first, because cemetery vases are usually designed to hold flowers and so would not need a stopper, and second, because the narrowest part of bottle’s aperture appears to be no more than about a half-inch in diameter, which would only allow one or very few flower stems to be inserted into it. If it is a cemetery vase, might it have been intended to be used with a stopper to carry water to a grave site, where the stopper could be removed before flowers were inserted?
Although the cord and bead around the bottle’s neck appear to be just decorative, the neck could have been intentionally made narrow to attach a carrying cord around the narrow part. The top view in one of the photos suggests the vessel wall is thick enough to support quite a bit of weight. Therefore, might it have served as a canteen to be slung over a person’s back or tied to a saddle?
I'm not committing to any of the suggested IDs yet. Would like to find any comparable objects for which function, age, and culture are known.
al
Allen Dart, RPA 12244, Executive Director (Volunteer)
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center
PO Box 40577
Tucson AZ 85717-0577 USA
520-798-1201
[log in to unmask]
www.oldpueblo.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Friday, May 8, 2020 6:38 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Pottery bottle ID
Is it glazed on the inside?
Silas Hurry/HSMC
> On May 8, 2020 at 3:54 PM Al Dart <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
> Hi,
>
> Can anyone identify the pottery jar shown in the photos at
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/0b2iatnvu3i5w9t/Pointed-bottom%20pottery%20bottle.
> pdf?dl=0? The fellow who sent me the photos says he acquired the
> bottle in California but doesn’t know anything about it. I thought it
> might be a Spanish colonial olive jar till he sent me the additional
> photos (in the
> link) showing it with a tape measure indicating the bottle is only
> about 7-8 inches long, about 2 inches in diameter at the lip, and
> maybe 2½ to 3 inches in maximum diameter so now I’m wondering whether
> it might be an oil or condiment bottle. I told the fellow I will not
> provide any information about its possible monetary value.
>
>
> al
>
> Allen Dart, RPA 12244, Executive Director (Volunteer) Old Pueblo
> Archaeology Center PO Box 40577 Tucson AZ 85717-0577 USA
> 520-798-1201
> [log in to unmask]
> www.oldpueblo.org
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
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