
FAITH
AND RELIGION
Regardless of which belief or which religion, from ancient China to today, bread is a divine gift and a central part of faith and rites almost everywhere.
Whoever takes the time to read through the Hebrew Bible and count how often the term “bread” is used will discover that it is mentioned almost 300 times. There is even a bread recipe from the Prophet Ezekiel. Bread was a central concept of the Jewish and, later, the Christian faiths: from Adam, who was damned to eat his bread “by the sweat of his brow”, to Jesus, who, after His resurrection, was recognised by His disciples because He broke bread.
But Jews and Christians were not the first to assign bread a central role in their beliefs, rituals and prayers. Where cereal crops became the foundation of agriculture and settled cultures developed, where wheat, barley or maize became the main crops, bread became a staple food that ensured survival. Bread became synonymous with life and, so, an integral part of faith and religion.
This connection was known in China, where – more than 2,000 years ago – grains and all the utensils necessary for making bread were brought into the unknown afterlife as burial gifts. Wherever the deceased’s final resting place was, there should never be a shortage of bread. The close relationship between faith and bread can also be traced back to the cradle of agriculture in the Mediterranean. It was in the Fertile Crescent, in the Middle East, where the Egyptians worshipped Osiris, a god who had shown man how to sow wheat, grind flour, and bake bread. In ancient Egypt, Osiris became the god of fertility, the god of change and, consequently, the god of the dead because, if there was no wheat harvest on the banks of the Nile, death and suffering would follow.
Bread is thus firmly anchored in faith. It is the fear of hunger and death that unites people – no matter their faith. The fundamental Christian prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, is not said in vain; “Give us this day our daily bread” is a universal plea to protect against not only physical but also spiritual starvation.
“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”

Field Guardians
Sierra Leone
16/17th century, Stone

Field Guardians
Sierra Leone
16/17th century, Stone

Field Guardians
Sierra Leone
16/17th century, Stone

From Life to Death to Life
It is no coincidence that the gilded falcon’s head of Osiris graces this wooden sarcophagus of an Egyptian grain mummy. Osiris was regarded as the god of the afterlife and rebirth, and the grain mummy as a symbol of both. It stood for the eternal cycle of grain that grows, is harvested, dies and grows again. It was also symbolic of the transition from life to death and then to life again. Death, as the ancient Egyptians believed, is not the end, but the beginning of something new.
Grain Mummy
Egypt, 600–400 AD
Wood/mud/cereal grain/ties

Grain Mummy
Egypt, 600-400 AD
Wood/mud/cereal grains/ties

Grain Mummy
Egypt, 600-400 AD
Wood/mud/cereal grains/ties

Where Honour is Due
Carved out of linden wood, this Madonna of the Wheat is the work of an unknown master. Probably active in Upper Austria around 1500, the artist borrowed from the style of the Schongauer altarpiece in Ulm Minster, but gave the 98-centimetre-high Madonna figure unusually slim lines.
Madonna
Upper Austria (AUT)
Around 1500, Linden wood

Bread Creates Community
Originally, baking bread was a communal effort – with equal emphasis on both words. This is shown not least by the Bronze Age model of a Syro-Hittite bakery, which covers the entire cycle: two people pounding grain with a mortar, one carrying a bowl of bread dough and two standing in front of a baking trough. The three remaining figures conclude that baking was a social event: they were spectators.
Syro-Hittite Bakery (Model)
Syria, Palestine
Around 3000 BC, Clay

Maze God vs. Earth Monster
Life and death in the pre-Inca times (600 to 1000 AD) of Latin America depended on the corn harvest. No wonder, then, that the maize god was worshipped. He sits at the head of these poles made of palm wood, while the earth monster is at the lower end. Taking a closer look, one sees that each pole represents a vegetative stage of the maize.
Totem Poles
Peru, 600–1000 AD
Palm wood

Totem Poles
Peru, 600–1000 AD
Palm wood

Totem Poles
Peru, 600–1000 AD
Palm wood

Totem Poles
Peru, 600–1000 AD
Palm wood

Totem Poles
Peru, 600–1000 AD
Palm wood