At the dawn of the Christian era, this vessel might have held oils or perfumes, or perhaps an offering of wine or honey. From such a vessel, Mary Magdalene might have anointed the feet of Christ. As we hold it in our hands today, admiring its simple beauty, we are aware of the touch of other hands long ago. Who might have held it when it was new? Were the dreams and emotions that guided their lives so very different from our own? The vessel's graceful unadorned shape appeals as much to the contemporary eye as it did to the culture that created it. Such artifacts, ordinary enough in their own age, connect us in an intimate way with the world of the past. In its presence, the centuries melt away and the imagination sets out on a journey of discovery.