Family Heirlooms

Family Heirlooms is a study of artifacts throughout Palestinian cultures and history. The items shared in the animation are a Phoenician Ring Jug, a Canaanite Bull, an olive tree and Nabulsi Soap, a Kiernos Ring, and a Thobe. The Phoenician Ring Jug pulls from the Phoenician presence in the north of Palestine, where the ceramic vessel contains wine that spills from itself into the space around it. The Canaanite Bull is a bronze sculpture for religious worship to pray to Canaanite gods of fertility and strength - while Palestine was the homeland of the Abrahamic faiths, there were many religions that existed within its history, with Canaanites living throughout Palestine and the Fertile Crescent’s coasts. To this day, olives have a huge cultural significance within modern and historical Palestine, with groves of Olive trees existing for centuries. From the harvesting of the olive, this stone fruit is processed into olive oil, and can then be turned into soap, known as Nabulsi Soap, originally created in Nablus over 1,000 years ago. Previous ancient cultures have used Kiernos Rings, a libation vessel containing several items represented within it. Represented in this Kiernos Ring is a cup, doves, pomegranates, jugs, and a gazelle head. Water would be poured into the cup and then it would circulate to the other objects within the ring, and this was used for religious purposes as well. Finally, a Palestinian Thobe (also known as a Thawb) is a tunic traditionally worn by women in Palestine. Adorned with Tatreez, a type of Palestinian embroidery, this clothing exists throughout the SWANA region for generations. Each item pulls from a different era in Palestinian history, exploring the vast span of cultures and people that were present within the land. By showing how they were interacted with and animating them to life, we can explore a representation of the works within the people’s lives.