Is it you, Joseph?
Could it, really? This beardless man who appears on bowls from the land of Egypt, the place of that Biblical and Quranic prognosticator? He would be very much at home, Joseph. Surrounded by magic words that we struggle to make sense of, magic words that appear to call on him in a bid to bear fruit. Words too, that have us baffled.
Do it, Joseph! Have pity on the farmer that requests a bountiful harvest, pity too the barren woman who drinks from your bowl. Surely, Joseph would not be disturbed by the language that the modern observer might take offense at. Joseph’s beauty has always been described in effeminate terms. Let the man have a vagina, if that is what it takes for the supplicants’ wishes to grow and give fruit.
EPILOGUE: I am convinced that there is more to be said about these bowls. Were they both used in a somehow similar magical context, or were they only made in the same place and then put to entirely different uses? Why doesn’t the Arabic bowl make more sense? Is it making sense in a way we don’t yet understand? To my knowledge, this is the first time that bowls like these are shown in an (online) public setting. I am hoping someone will see them and recognize something. Perhaps the pointed items behind the men’s backs can be identified with more certainty or perhaps someone remembers how an elder family member possessed bowls like these and had a ritual for them. Please do contact me and let us see if we can get another story out of these two remarkable things.