This is a fine 'labu', an earthenware flask with a rounded body and a long neck. It was used as a popular water container in Southeast Asia and its name come from the gourd, a fleshy fruit of a creeping vine that since ancient times was hollowed out and dried for use as a water container. This labu is believed to have come from Kuala Kangsar, the royal capital of Perak. It is fairly typical of traditional Malay earthenware, although its silver throat and stopper suggest that it belonged to someone of considerable means.
