PALESTINIAN POTTERY—KELSO AND THORLEY 365 
decorative motif in the entire history of Palestinian ceramics, Perhaps 
one of Israel’s most interesting contributions was a lamp with seven 
wicks—a striking ceramic adaptation of the theme of the seven- 
branched candlestick in the Shiloh tabernacle. In the days of the 
Judges the land was invaded by the sea peoples of whom the most im- 
portant were the Philistines. Their pottery presented fine forms and 
striking painted designs such as the swan pluming itself, the Maltese 
cross, and the Ionic spirals. The Israelite potters ignored these new 
painting designs but did improve the forms of their wares under Phil- 
istine incentive. By David’s day Israelite pottery was on the up- 
swing, particularly in burnished ware which exhibited a wide variety 
of beautiful designs. 
Israelite pottery is seen at its best in the days of the divided king- 
dom. The following were some of the wares displayed in the pottery 
bazaars of the days of Jeremiah. The most expensive, because of the 
difficulty of manufacture, were the great four-handled banquet bowls, 
about the size of modern punch bowls. The lines of these bowls have a 
FicurE 1.—Judean water jars, probably dating from the time of Jeremiah, which 
were found at Tell Beit Mirsim (Debir). Note the graduated sizes. 
subtle loveliness, and on the interior their beauty is intensified by 
narrow spiral burnishings alternating with similarly spaced unburn- 
ished spirals. Bowls then descended in various shapes and sizes until 
they became as small as modern sauce dishes. Some of these are as 
delicate as the best modern tableware. Plates were the rarest of all 
Israelite dishes. 
Another strikingly artistic piece was the ring-burnished water 
decanter (fig. 1). It is the “potter’s earthen bottle” referred to by 
Jeremiah in his object-lesson sermon (ch. 19). Pitchers, averaging 
around 9 inches in height, came in three grades; superior ware, skill- 
fully thrown and showing a vitality and spontaneity of line often 
missing in the more mathematically precise Greek pottery; standard 
ware; and cheap ware, i. e., “five and ten cent store” goods. Cups ran 
with or without handles and those without handles were form-fitted 
to the hand. 
Olive oil was used in various types of cruets and elongated pear- 
shaped juglets. Another common use of a juglet was to hold perfume. 
Some juglets have perforated bottoms and were used for sprinkling 
