Gilded Flask, Syria, 12th century, w63 x h242 cm. The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar.

When this flask was last put on auction, it was described as an Indian piece of the early 18th century. However, its true origins lie six centuries earlier and about four thousand kilometers further east, in or near what is today the small eastern Syrian city of Raqqa. In the mid-1100s, the city was a thriving centre for the production of pottery and glass, constantly refreshed by the appearance of craftsmen leaving the ailing Fatimid Empire in search of opportunities further afield.

With its vivid colours and elegant form, it is no surprise that flasks of this type were widely sought-after, both inside and outside the Islamic world. Similar pieces have been found at sites as diverse as a Byzantine fortress in Cyprus and a trader’s dwelling in what is now Belarus.