Funerary urns: art throughout the ages

Throughout history and in many cultures, death and how it is handled, is somewhat of an art form. Burying noble Kings and Queens, powerful Chieftains, with all their worldly goods for their "afterlife" is an ongoing theme is a number of lands, throughout the centuries. And while, we as modern Americans mostly don't surround our bones with chariots and furniture (well... not usually) we do have a few fancier ways of handling death.

I realize this is a sensitive subject for most people. As a potter, the urn is something rather important as it is a tribute to ones life and spirit. It has been made, again, throughout the centuries in most if not all cultures. In Egypt, jars were made to hold precious organs of the dead. Vikings and Gauls alike had urns to hold their ashes and to this day, ashes are displayed in some of the most fantastic pieces of artwork you can possibly imagine.

While this is modern, I wanted to share this LA Times article on Funerary Urns as Modern Art. The article itself is really fantastic and the urns are inspiring.