Created during the time just prior to the biblical patriarchs, this simple but charming vessel glows with the rich patina of history. Who can say through whose hands it might have passed centuries ago? It may have held oil used for anointing people in religious ceremonies, and it was perhaps from a jug similar to this that Abraham anointed Isaac in the moment before the angel appeared. Or perhaps it held perfume, purchased as a gift by a loving husband for his wife. Such a vessel would have been a necessity in the ancient world to contain and transport precious oils and unguents for ritual or daily usage. Although its original contents have long disappeared, the energy of those vanished lives is still contained within this vessel. This jug was once a vital, indispensable part of everyday life in the ancient world. Today, it is even more valuable to our modern lives, not as a container, but as a symbol of the past. This jug holds history inside, it reminds us of the lives, the joys and struggles, the triumphs and defeats, of those who came before us. Whose hands might have held it so long ago we can only guess, yet the connection is a direct one between our age and theirs. - (SP.347)

Antiquities
Ancient Near East