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Both the shape and decoration show foreign influence: the shape is based on a West Asian pilgrim’s flask, while the whirling dancer is performing a dance derived from the culture of Sogdia. Centered in present-day Uzbekistan, merchants from this polity, some of whom lived in China, dominated the Silk Road trade from the fourth to the seventh century.
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北齊 胡人舞伎紋青釉陶扁壶
Title: Pilgrim’s flask with Central Asian dancers
Period: Northern Qi dynasty (550–577)
Date: late 6th century
Culture: China
Medium: Earthenware with molded decoration under olive-green glaze
Dimensions: H. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm)
Classification: Ceramics
Credit Line: Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. William P. Frankenhoff and Mrs. Richard E. Linburn Gifts, 2001
Accession Number: 2001.629
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