LARGE GREEN HEIRLOOM JAR FROM BORNEO. Height: 20 in. by Width: 19 in. by Depth: 19 in. Heirloom Jars of Borneo Large storage jars so valued by the tribal peoples of Borneo were used on a daily basis then handed down to the next generation. Just how much they valued the sacred jars can be seen in the amount they were willing to spend on these items, or by their refusal to part with them at any price. The sacred jar owned by the Datu of Tamparuli in Borneo, was originally sold to a merchant by a Malau chief for two tons of brass cannons, the equivalent in the mid-1800s to 230 pounds sterling. The merchant sold it to the datu for the equivalent in rice of 700 pounds sterling. When the Sultan of Brunei was offered the equivalent of $100,000 to part with his sacred jar, he said that no offer would be sufficient. Water from the jar was believed to have special magical properties and visiting farmers from as far as the Bisayas in the Philippines were said to have come to obtain a little magic water for their fields.