Bottle (Schraubflasche), c. 1660-80. German, Bavaria, Kreussen. Salt-glazed stoneware, applied and impressed decoration, pewter; overall: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.). Bottles or jars (kruken) of this type of six-sided form are most often associated with the ceramic tradition found in Kreussen (now Creussen) in the Bavarian region of Germany during the mid to late 1600s. With a threaded neck fitted with a pewter screw top and ring, they were ideal vessels for medicinal liquids as they could be easily connected to a belt for transport to the patient. Applied decoration depicting the twelve apostles, as on this example, allude to the spiritual nature of healing.