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Because I want you to, that’s why.

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I know the easy joke would be my husband! but while his years are steadily advancing… he’s not nearly as old as this fascinating carved crystal oddity passed down from my father.

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It’s a bit of a weirdo and though we’ve tried repeatedly over the years, we’ve never been able to positively identify it.

Heck, we even took it to Sotheby’s in NYC a decade ago and if their experts were stumped? It may just have to remain a mystery.

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My paternal grandfather was a world traveler in the late 1800’s and brought this back from Egypt. It hung in my grandparent’s house, my parent’s house and now it hangs in mine. The family lore said it was ancient Egyptian but Sothebys said no, the skull was not used iconographically back then. They did think it could be early Coptic, and as they are the direct descendants… I suppose that’s close enough.

( Historical context. Copts believe themselves to be the descendants of Egypt’s ancient Pharaonic people. They were first converted to Christianity with the arrival of St Mark in Egypt in 62 CE. Egypt became part of the Byzantine Empire in 395 CE, and the Egyptian Church was separated from the Christian community in 451. )

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The famous auction house said the metal work was added later and in its present form could have been used as a talisman for pirates.

How cool is that?

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We never even bothered to ask what it was worth… which in hindsight was rather stupid. But no matter, it’s part of my father’s history and would never be for sale.

So how about you….

What’s the oldest thing in your house?

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