021 Alabastron

Museum Description: Alabastron (Oil Flask) from a Tomb on Rhodes

Room: 19/Case: 2/Number: GR 1864.10-7.1822

Scripture: Mark 14:3

Alabastron is actually a place in Egypt, where this type of stone was originally quarried.  The stone became known by the same name, alabaster, as did the small vaselike containers made from it.  Cheaper materials were also used, but they were still called alabastra because they had the same use.  A narrow hole would be bored into the middle of the vessel, so it could be easily sealed to protect the contents.  Genuine alabaster is nearly as hard as marble, so vases with the most expensive contents would be made out of the real thing, as we read in the accounts about Jesus.  By contrast we are described as being weaker "earthen vessels, so that the power beyond what is normal may be God’s and not from us" - 2 Corinthians 4:7.  Other similar or related artefacts are on display in The British Museum.