A water flask dressed for company. The body belongs to the long South Asian family of metal water vessels made to be filled, carried and kept close in a hot, dry climate; the painting is what turns that working form into something more extroverted. The deep red ground, worn floral panels and rubbed neck banding are doing exactly what you want age to do, not flattening the object but letting the use show through the ornament.

It carries the dents of a working life on its body. It held water before it held attention, which is why it still manages both.