When ancient Persia was at her height, this elegant vessel might have held an offering of oil or honey. Perhaps it was left as a votive at the shrine of a powerful deity. 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, we cross the bridge of time and set the imagination on a wondrous journey of discovery.