Flask c. 1936

Charles Caseau made this artwork, titled "Flask," using watercolor and graphite on paper. The flask, likely intended for carrying spirits, features a portrait encircled by the words "New Jersey Bridgeton," signaling local pride and perhaps the flask's origin. Notice the sailboat on the smaller flask, echoing humanity's ancient connection to the sea. This vessel—a symbol of travel, trade, and adventure—carries with it the hopes and fears of those who have dared to navigate the waters, linking it to countless maritime images throughout history. Consider, for instance, how ships appear on ancient coins or as allegorical figures in Renaissance paintings, each time carrying a cargo of cultural meaning. Like the cyclical nature of tides, the symbolic weight of the sailboat resurfaces, ever transformed yet eternally evocative.