There are many kinds of containers for many different types of uses. The history of the container can go back almost 6000 years ago when clay pots were formed by the potter. Interestingly enough, it is about the only trade that has lasted for so long without any technological advances. The same simple yet skillful concept to making a vessel fit for the masters’ use is still used today. It all boils down to an artist who produces with his hands a form of art that only he can picture in his mind as the onlooker sees just a pile of mud.
The potter will mold and make that lump of clay into something practical and beautiful but the process may require that he rid it of impurities such as grass, stones, dirt and etc. There may also be the lump of clay that is too hard and cannot be broken down with water and the potters hand to mold like the rest of the clay. It too will be taken out and cast away. Then there are the times when for whatever reason, the form of the clay is not pleasing to the potter. It will be broken down and remolded until it fits the original design that the potter had in mind.
Skillfully and steadily the potter continues to shape that lump of clay. It can be just a simple vessel or something strikingly different from anything ever produced yet. And while the potter is done with his molding, the end product is not yet finished. There is heat applied to the vessel. If the potter has properly molded his piece and the clay is of good quality, the masterpiece should be able to withstand the flames. Fire hardens the clay and produces the final outcome.
Although today’s modern concepts of containers varies vastly from the original clay pot, the origins still remain the same. Each container has a maker and with an idea of what it should be used for. Whether the container is made from plastic, glass, reed, wicker, wood, plaster, or whatever, it has a purpose planned for it. Take for instance the stainless steel wire mesh baskets that Three M Tool Company produces. Each of their baskets is produced to a certain specification mainly dictated by the end user. The user knows what he wants the basket to do for him and how it needs to be designed. Just a slight variation of the design would render the basket useless.
So when you go to put that whole chicken in the clay pot to be baked, remember the potter and the skill he put into that pot. It wasn’t any easy task to learn that trade. It took many tries and many hours to master the knack of molding and making. And so it is with all different types of containers.