Chinese Shipwreck Funnel-Form Mercury Storage Vessel

Chipped at the opening and ringed like a tiny tree, quite content with the damage.

This shipwreck funnel-form mercury storage vessel is from Cizao Kilns, Fujian Province, China. It is stoneware. Funnel-shaped earthenware from the late Song or early Yuan periods is believed to have carried mercury, which alchemists long associated with immortality and which physicians prescribed for a variety of illnesses. Small conical vessel with a rounded shoulder, a few fine ridges below it and a damaged hole at the top. The surface is chalky gray with tan staining and flaky white spots. It is 9 inches high and 5 in diameter.

Battered, thoughtful, and holding its shape against the odds.