I started out with a much different idea about how this vase ought to be photographed. It was a lot of trouble to set up and photograph in my tiny place. In the end this began to reveal itself to me. Much simpler. The vase is marble with fossilized bits in it. Correction, it's from Pakistan. I was thinking last night about the vendor and his accent and face came to me. I bought it for between $15.00 and $30.00 at Eastern Market--a Capitol Hill weekend arts, crafts, antiques and farmers market a short walk from my condo. (I meant for this to be a square crop. I see I missed. I'll fix it later.)