A Rare 17th Century German Engraved Bone Powder Flask.

A Rare 17th Century German Engraved Bone Powder Flask. This masterfully crafted 17th-century German powder flask serves as a quintessential example of the sophisticated equipment produced for the European aristocracy during the Baroque period. Constructed from dense, polished bone, the flattened, tapering body is elaborately decorated with fine engravings that utilize a dark pigment to accentuate the narrative detail. The obverse depicts a hunter in contemporary 17th-century attire, including a tunic and broad-brimmed hat, aiming a long-arm firearm within a densely wooded landscape. The reverse is equally ornate, illustrating a pastoral hunting scene filled with frolicking hares in a meadow before a distant hillside manor or castle, all enclosed within intricate guilloche and geometric borders at the neck and base. The flask retains its original iron suspension rings for attachment to a carrying cord and is topped with a finely carved nozzle featuring scrollwork and chevron motifs. An early museum inventory number, "2566" is inscribed in black ink on the underside of the base. Measuring approximately 19 cm in total length, this piece represents an exceptional fusion of utilitarian function and high-period decorative art. The item is in Excellent condition.