Arts 2025, 14, 8 https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14010008 Article Reassigning Functionalities: On the Taifa “Perfume Bole” or Canteen from Albarracin, Teruel Noelia Silva Santa-Cruz Department of History of Art; Universidad Complutense de Madrid;Av. Complutense, s/n, Moncloa - Aravaca, 28040 Madrid, Spain; nsilva@ucm.es Abstract: The silver-gilt container discovered in 1964 in the vicinity of Albarracin is cur- rently housed in the Teruel Museum in Spain and represents a pinnacle of Taifa sumptu- ary arts. It was commissioned by the second monarch of the Kingdom of Albarracin, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Khalaf (r. 1045-?), as a gift to his wife Zahr. The object’s elevated technical sophistication, coupled with its bespoke commemorative inscription, lends credence to the notion that it was crafted in the royal workshops responsible for the production of luxury items. The vessel’s functionality, which has fluctuated between its traditional con- sideration as a perfume bole and the more recent identification as a canteen, has been adequately postulated but not sufficiently examined. The aim of this paper is to discuss the primary function of the object in question, particularly in relation to its distinctive flaened spherical shape. To achieve this, the study will delve into the close and well- established historical association between the morphology and function of objects, which tends to endure and perpetuate within the same cultural context over the centuries. By employing this methodology, we can establish a connection between the studied piece and the flasks used for the storage of sacred water (zamzam) that pilgrims brought back from Mecca after performing the Ḥajj. This typology can be traced back to the pre-Islamic period and persisted through the Ooman matara model. Keywords: al-Andalus; Taifa kingdoms; Banū Razīn; sumptuary arts; metalworks; Ḥajj; Zamzam well 1. Introduction A review of recent historiography on the design of objects in the 20th and 21st cen- turies reveals a close link between two essential elements that make up the configuration of any utensil: morphology and function. As numerous authors have observed, the struc- ture of objects—whether they are for everyday use or more elite-purposed—is closely subordinated to the service they are intended to provide, which can be summarized in the maxim “form communicates function”. 1 This correspondence between form and function is not exclusive to contemporary production; it also manifests when examining material culture preserved from past eras. In particular, this can be observed in the context of me- dieval Islam, where the harmonious union of these two elements has been celebrated as a significant factor contributing to the esthetic appeal of its artifacts. In this tradition, the complete artistic experience for the viewer is only achieved when form and function are in alignment (Shalem 2010, pp. 129–30). Unfortunately, the link that associates and harmonizes both components is fragile and can sometimes easily break due to the loss of information associated with the passage Academic Editor: María Marcos Cobaleda Received: 17 December 2024 Revised: 20 January 2025 Accepted: 23 January 2025 Published: 25 January 2025 Citation: Silva Santa-Cruz, Noelia. 2025. Reassigning Functionalities. On the Taifa “Perfume Bole” or Canteen from Albarracin, Teruel. Arts 14: 8. hps://doi.org/10.3390/ arts14010008 Copyright: © 2025 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Swiꜩerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Aribution (CC BY) license (hps://creativecommons.org/license s/by/4.0/).