|
|
 |
|
"Without Wax" |
 |
|||
|
Things worth talking about.
There is one word that most people have used at least once in their lives, and some use every day. Sincerely. What does it mean when you write it? What does it mean when you say it? What does it really mean? I will share with you the one of the few things that I remember from eighth grade Latin class. In the ancient days (when people spoke Latin) people used to transport water by pouring it into large cisterns, or vases which they would carry on top of their heads. These vases were made of clay, and part of their manufacture required that they be set out in the sun for several hours to bake and harden. Sometimes the vases would crack during this process, and an unscrupulous craftsman would sometimes fill the cracks with wax. If a person who bought one of these vases were using it to carry water under the desert sun, a problem would often arise; the sun's heat would melt the wax, and water would start to leak out of the vase onto the head of the person carrying it or onto the dirt and sand below. Those buying vases had to use care when buying a vase, so as not to get stuck with a vase made by a dishonest craftsman. To set their goods apart, noble vase-makers made small handwritten signs explaining that their vases were made Sine Cera, from "Sine" (without) and "Sera" (wax). From the days of cracked vases we have gained the word sincere, which means honest, pure, or true; marked by genuineness. So now you know.
|
|||
|
About the vase pictured above: It is 8th-7th century B.C., Mesopotamian, Neo-Assyrian period, glazed earthenware. The use of colorful glazes extended to the ornamentation of ceramic vessels. Perhaps the most characteristic shape was an ovoid vase with high-rimmed neck and pointed, rounded base, its shoulder defined by a row of pendant petals. This vase pictured above, like many Mesopotamian relics, is a museum piece, and is, unfortunately, not for sale. |
|||