Vessel

Small enough to close a hand around, with a surface that glitters like frost on a window.

This vessel is Islamic, dates to the 7th century and is blown glass. Glassblowing spread across the Near East long before the rise of Islam, and early Islamic glassmakers continued and refined those traditions. This little bottle has a squarish body, a waisted neck and a flared rim. Centuries of burial have left a frosty, flaking weathering over the pale glass, with patches of golden iridescence. It is 3 inches high and 1 wide.

It has held its shape far longer than anyone could have asked.