Pearls of Wisdom: The Arts of Islam at the University of Michigan

This ceramic vessel is historically significant for its intact condition even though the pattern of its water filter is less ornamentally complex than other extant examples. In its integral shape, this vessel demonstrates the construction and utility of vessels outfitted with water filters. On the inside of the neck a circle of pierced holes filtered impurities out of the water as it was poured out of the vessel. In addition, the filter also protected the interior liquid contents from insects, dust, and other debris.

Bibliography: Olmer 1932; Scanlon 1970a; 1964, 65–68, pl. XV, figs. 6–7; 1986, 4, fig. 6; 1968; and Watson 2004, 133, cat. Ae. 1.