Jug c. 1940

Yolande Delasser rendered this jug using watercolor. The jug, a vessel for carrying and pouring liquids, appears across cultures and throughout history, bearing symbolic weight. Consider the amphora of ancient Greece, often adorned with scenes of daily life or mythology, used to transport wine and oil. Like Delasser’s jug, these vessels transcended mere utility. They became bearers of cultural narratives, shaping social rituals and artistic expression. The jug’s appearance signals its central role in rituals. Think of the medieval banquets depicted in tapestries and illuminated manuscripts, where jugs of wine were emblems of hospitality and communal feasting. The symbolism of this jug extends into the spiritual realm, where water, carried within the jug, often signifies purity, life, and transformation. We must remember that, like the cyclical nature of water, such symbols resurface and evolve, carrying echoes of past meanings into the present.