Boiled leather “turtle” flask

“Turtle” shaped flasks have existed from Antiquity to the present day.

Formerly made of earthenware (Antiquity and Middle Ages), they kept water cool but remained fragile. Flasks of “boiled” leather (waterproofed with wax) had the advantage of being less fragile when travelling but warmed up faster in the sun. In the United States, during the Civil War, they were made of tinplate to withstand the conditions of military life.

This flask is made of leather boiled in beeswax; the leather is vegetable-tanned (non-toxic), the cord is hemp and the stopper wood.

The beeswax used is organic (untreated). Non-organic hives are treated with a product that can make humans sterile. Although it does not pass into the honey, traces of it can be found in the wax.