Iron Age Two-Handled Terracotta Jug or Canteen

In the Israel of Biblical times, this vessel might have held ointments or perfumes, or perhaps an offering of wine or honey. Judging by the presence of its two handles, the vessel may have been intended to hang by a lanyard, perhaps to provide water for a laborer or traveler. As we hold it in our hands today, admiring its simple beauty, we are aware of the touch of other hands long ago. Who might have held it when it was new? Were the dreams and emotions that guided their lives so very different from our own? The vessel's graceful unadorned shape appeals as much to the contemporary eye as it did to the culture that created it. Such artifacts, ordinary enough in their own age, connect us in an intimate way with the world of the past. In its presence, the centuries melt away and the imagination sets out on a journey of discovery.