This peacock blue flask has a bulbous body and a slightly tapering stout neck with a ring molding near the mouth and an everted rim. It is reminiscent of unguent vessels found throughout the ancient world and South Asia. Unguents are topical preparations for skin injuries or massage therapy. A multitude of herbal unguents are described in literary accounts, such as in the early 12th-century Sanskrit treatise, the Manasollasa.
Large numbers of rich monochrome glass vessels were produced in the city kilns of Kapadwanj near Ahmedabad during the 17th through early 19th centuries. The most common colors are peacock blue, dark blue, and deep green, with amber, violet, and wine red also featured. Kapadwanj glass is characteristically opaque or translucent with noticeable impurities. The glass is brittle and often comparatively thick, even though the vessels are blown rather than molded. Elegant and lyrical forms distinguish Kapadwanj glass, with rosewater sprinklers, wine cups, water tumblers, spouted pouring vessels, and bird-shaped inkwells being the most popular. The glass vessels typically derive their shapes from forms found in earlier Timurid and Mughal metalware and hardstone carving. Extensive glass production continued at the site until the early 19th century when technically superior English lead glass began to be favored in the Indian marketplace. See M.89.83.1a-b–.10.
