India. The powder flask with a carved wood head of a makara with bone-inlaid eyes holding the stopper in its mouth, the neck minutely inlaid with lacquer and bone dots, the circular curved horn of a deep honey color.

Provenance: The Edith & Stuart Cary Welch Collection. Previously on loan at the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University. Stuart Cary Welch, Jr. (1928-2008) was a celebrated curator, lecturer, and collector of Islamic and Indian art. The Fogg Museum opened to the public in 1896 and is the oldest and largest component of the Harvard Art Museums. It was founded as an institution for the teaching and study of visual arts, and the original building contained classrooms. The museum collection holds important collections of Asian art, most notably, archaic Chinese jades (the widest collection outside of China) and Japanese surimono, as well as outstanding Chinese bronzes, ceremonial weapons, Buddhist cave-temple sculptures, ceramics from China and Korea, Japanese works on paper, and lacquer boxes.
Condition: Fair condition with expected old wear, some natural flaws, obvious losses, age cracks, shallow surface scratches, and nicks. With a beautiful golden-brown patina overall.

Weight: 223 g
Dimensions: Diameter 17 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a related wood powder flask, Northwest India, 18th century, in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar. Compare a related wood powder flask in the form of a makara, dated 19th century, 16.5 cm diameter, illustrated by Stephen Markel, The Enigmatic Image: Curious Subjects in Indian Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2015, fig. 32.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby's London, 7 October 2015, lot 358
Price: GBP 18,750 or approx. EUR 32,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A carved buffalo and powder horn, India, 17th/18th century
Expert remark: Compare the color of the horn and the zoomorphic design.