Pouring Vessel

Pouring vessels have been used for thousands of years for a variety of religious and secular purposes. Drinks were offered to present to and honor divinities, ancestors and souls of the departed. In Greece, a libation is a ritual and sacred act of pouring wine from a jug preceding the drinking of wine and also considered an act of Greek piety. In Rome, libations were often a liquid offering of unmixed wine and perfume and an offering act of worship. The Burmese have a Buddhist ritual pouring of water from a vase at the end of a Buddhist ceremony that acts to share the accrued merits gained in this act with all other living beings. Hindu deities are offered water in daily puja and home and temple offering rituals to honor them, and the Chinese pour tea or wine from side to side in front of tombstones and altars as an offering to gods and to honor the departed. In a non-religious or sacred context, pouring vessels are used on a daily basis for fluids of all kinds but especially wine and water, but they can also be used to pour spices, oils, cosmetics, fragrances, ointments, etc.