This gourd-shaped bottle has anthropomorphic features. It has a globular body with a human head at the base of a long neck with a rolled mouth rim. The head consists of modelled and applied facial features. A heavily degraded dark olive-brown glaze covers the whole vessel stopping just short of the foot. The gourd is a symbol of longevity and immortality.Double gourd-shaped bottles were used as a ritual vessel to contain liquids or incense for offerings. An anthropomorphic bottle like this piece may have been used as a funerary urn.Khmer ceramics have a variety of distinctive forms. However, only two types of glazes were used. One was thin, pale green, usually translucent and finely crazed while the other varied from chestnut brown to olive-green and black and always mottled. Sometimes these two glazes were used on one piece.Excavations show that brown glazed wares were produced by the late tenth century. Khmer ceramics are noted for their simplicity in design. Decoration was used in moderation thus allowing for the beauty of the forms to stand out.
