This assemblage from a QBO estate memorializes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We know this by the first pebble, labeled “From Mt. Sinai”, because Mount Sinai (AKA Mount Horeb) isn’t on modern maps. Its location is debated by Biblical, Rabbinical and historical scholars. Likely candidates are 1 mountain in Lebanon, 2 in Jordan, 3 in Saudi Arabia, and 6 in Egypt, so, quite a few! Whichever Mount Sinai this pilgrim visited, the original is sacred to Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, because Moses received the 10 commandments on its slopes.
Next is a half shell “From the Mediterranean (Netanga)”. Bittersweet clams (Glycymeris) were abundant on the coast of Israel long before humans and are common fossils. Although not Kosher for practicing Jews, they are a popular dinner with tourists. In the Bible Jesus visited two pagan cities on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Tyre and Sidon, but Netanya is not mentioned as it was founded in the 20th century. A significant number of Ethiopian and Persian Jews settled there and in peace time, its sunny beaches make Natanya a popular tourist spot.
The next pebble is “From the Sea of Galilee at Tiberias”. The Sea of Galilee (AKA Lake Tiberias, Genezareth, or Kinneret), is not saline but freshwater. Its shore is the setting for 2 miracles attributed to Jesus. In the first, he preaches to such a large crowd his followers fret there won’t be enough food, but with only a few loaves and fishes Jesus feeds the hungry multitude. The second is after his death. His despairing friends return empty-handed from a night spent fishing. Unrecognized, Jesus meets them at the shore and when he tells them to cast out their nets again, they succeed. They then recognize him and he tells them to carry his work forward. The city of Tiberias was named for the Roman emperor during Jesus’s lifetime, whose territory included the conquered Judea. This next chip of stone is “From Golgotha (The Skull)”, also known as Calvary; the site where Jesus was crucified. The multi-denominational Church of the Holy Sepulcher is built on the spot just outside Jerusalem and is an important stop for pilgrims.
This little snail was picked up “From The Jericho Road”. More than 20 settlements, each built atop the remains of the last, have been uncovered going back 11,000 years, making Jericho among the oldest cities in the world. In the Old Testament Israelite military leader Joshua, on orders from God, brings the walls down with just the sound of trumpets. Jericho was also where Jesus healed the blind and persuaded a tax collector to repent; and the road between Jerusalem and Jericho is the setting for his Parable of the Good Samaritan, wherein an enemy tribesman aids a wounded man whom his own people have forsaken. The Bible calls Jericho “a city of palm trees”; today Christian tourism provides needed income. This last faded scrap of seaweed and marine ‘toothed top snail’, Tectus dentatus, is from the Red Sea (Gulf of Suez), in Exodus the spot where Moses parted the sea for Israelites to escape Pharaoh’s army. Another exodus occurred when the Suez Canal was dug in 1869, joining the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea for shipping. The bodies of water had been separated for eons. Over 1,000 Red Sea marine species invaded the Mediterranean, resulting in a huge, irreversible change in biodiversity.
But what about that card, you ask? It’s a Golden Age of Air Travel menu! You have to get from North America to the Holy Land somehow, and this pilgrim took an intercontinental Canadian Pacific Air Lines flight with full meal service including mixed salad, pepper steak with broccoli, asparagus & Parisian potatoes, cheese, fruit cup, coffee, red wine, white, or champagne! Fancy!
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!