Earplug c. 15th century

Editor: This is a ceramic earplug from around the 15th century, artist unknown. It’s surprisingly weighty, and this particular green stone makes me think of ancient artifacts… almost prehistoric. What visual stories does this small sculpture tell you? Curator: Immediately, I think about ritual and adornment. It isn’t merely functional, is it? What does altering one’s own body communicate? Perhaps belonging to a certain community, celebrating an individual passage, marking rites? The color, the material – does this specific green connect to nature, growth, renewal? The circular shape itself – what is that a reference to? Editor: So, it's more than just something to block out sound? Curator: Precisely! Think about the hole that pierces this plug. This introduces emptiness within the tangible, prompting questions about both absence and potential. And how might this reflect broader spiritual or cosmological beliefs? We project quite a lot onto this artifact. Editor: It makes me wonder about the person who wore it. Were they royalty? A priest? Curator: Absolutely! Visual symbols offer a window into cultural memory, helping us see echoes across vast stretches of time and place. It seems simple but tells of this era. Don't you agree? Editor: I never thought of it that way! I always considered earplugs as utilitarian, nothing beyond it. Curator: That’s the wonderful thing about objects like these; they remind us that even the smallest, most mundane things can carry immense cultural and symbolic weight. There is an endless chain reaction of seeing more than just their basic purpose. Editor: Thank you for this perspective; now I see art as symbols of memory!