Eggs as Vessels? Incredible!

Artist Adam Chau made a

porcelain egg crate complete

with an egg shell. Go to

www.adamchau.com to see

more of his work.

When most people think of eggs, they think of chicken eggs and breakfast. But people who study oology, which is a branch of ornithology (birds) that deals with the anatomy and physiology of eggs, will say that eggs are not only edible but they really are incredible.

Nearly all animals produce eggs. Mammal embryos develop completely inside the mother’s body. Birds produce a hard-shelled egg designed to develop outside of the mother’s body. A bird egg has four basic structures. The yolk supplies nutrition for the embryo. A tiny white dot on the yolk is the germinal disc which contains the DNA nucleus. Then there is the albumen which is the white or clear part which surrounds the yolk. It has several layers which basically keep the yolk from getting scrambled. The hard outer surface of a bird egg is the shell. The shell also has several layers which act as a protective container or vessel for the embryo.

Throughout history, the egg shape has represented natural harmony, life, birth, creation, and potential. The ancient Greeks and Egyptians used egg shaped containers to store grain and seed. The Greeks in particular stored wine and olive oil in elongated egg shaped vessels called amphorae. 

Archeologists have discovered that 60 to 90,000 years ago, humans used ostrich eggs as water flasks. An ostrich egg holds about one liter of water and, since the shell is breathable, the water stays cool. Using these shells as water flasks allowed humans to live in harsh dry areas of sub-Saharan Africa. After the shells inevitably got broken, the fragments were made into beads. These beads were used not only to decorate clothes or jewelry but also as a form of currency. Sometimes the eggs were engraved and decorated. These decorated shells may be some of the earliest art. To this day Kalahari Bushmen use ostrich eggs as vessels. To see a picture of a real ostrich egg vessel go to www.britishmuseum.org look under South Africa Landscape.

So, eggs as vessels? Incredibly yes!

--Lynn Conaway