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Details / Information for Powder Flask

Powder Flask

c. 1590

Italy, 16th century

Medium
gilt brass over fabric covered wood
Measurements
Overall: 19.4 x 12.7 cm (7 5/8 x 5 in.)
Weight: 660 g (1.46 lbs.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.666
Public Domain
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Location
210B Firearms
Print
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Did You Know?

This powder flask depicts a mythological scene that precipitated the Trojan War. Here we see the Trojan prince Paris giving a golden apple to Aphrodite, the goddess who reciprocates by offering him the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta.

Description

Luxury powder flasks served as highly visible badges of ranks. Many highly decorated flasks, like this example, embody all the allure and characteristics of a work of art. This flask depicts an ancient Greek story in which the youthful Paris must reward the most beautiful woman in the world with a golden apple.
A gilt brass and wood powder flask is shaped like a tapered, flat-topped cone with a vertical nozzle and ring handle. High-relief golden figures wrap around the dark wood center, depicting five individuals in tunics. A seated figure rests near a tree on the left, while four others stand toward the right. Repeating circular floral patterns form borders at the top and bottom edges, framing the scene.

Powder Flask

c. 1590

Italy, 16th century

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