In Israel, as in other ancient nations, it was
customary to dedicate persons or objects to
sacred use by anointing them with oil. Thus
Samuel anointed Saul king, as Moses had
hallowed the tabernacle and Aaron the high
priest before, and Abraham had sanctified Isaac.
This simple yet charming vessel exudes an
energy of the ages, glowing from within its
surface, richly patinated by the fingerprints of
history. 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.
The functional simplicity of this vessel lends it a
timeless elegance that appeals to contemporary
tastes as much as it surely did to ancient ones.
Even after the passage of millennia, the design of
such a pot could hardly be improved upon. What
did it once contain, we wonder, and who poured
from its spout and drank? Did those ancient
people stop, as we do, to admire the grace of the
vessel as they held it in their hands? We feel in
its presence a direct bond with those long-
forgotten individuals
- (P.4173)
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