The word “vase” came into English from the French language, where it meant a container or vessel. The French term came from the Latin word vas, which also meant a vessel or container and is related to vasculum, meaning small vessel, the same root that gives us the word vascular. The pronunciation shifted as the word moved into English, but the basic meaning has stayed the same, referring to an open container usually used for flowers or decoration.

Vases don’t trace back to one single place or culture. Since making containers from clay is one of humanity’s oldest crafts, people in many parts of the world developed pottery independently, with simple clay vessels going back to the Stone Age, when they were shaped by hand using coils of clay.

A major turning point came in ancient Sumeria around 3250 BCE with the invention of the potter’s wheel.

In ancient Egypt, vases served both practical and decorative purposes, and Egyptians were likely among the first people to display cut flowers in them.

Ancient Greece became especially known for elaborately painted vases that told stories from mythology.

Later, porcelain vases originated in China during the Tang dynasty, from 618 to 907 CE, and were eventually exported to Europe, where they became highly valued and helped shape European decorative arts.

Vases have been made from almost every material imaginable, most commonly ceramics like clay and porcelain, along with glass, stone such as marble and alabaster, metals including brass and silver, and also wood and plastic.

Some historical materials were far stranger. The Romans prized a mysterious substance called murrhine, used for extremely expensive vases and described by ancient writers as having swirling purple and white patterns. It was valuable enough that one Roman famously broke a murrhine cup just to spite the Emperor Nero, and scholars still aren’t sure exactly what it was, with guesses ranging from a type of agate to fossilized shell to a rare glass or pottery.

Other unusual materials include leather, used by nomadic peoples for portable vessels, and aventurine glass, which sparkles because it contains actual metallic copper mixed into it.

Vase prices vary enormously, so there’s no real “average.” A basic glass or ceramic vase might cost just a few dollars, while decorative stone or metal pieces typically run from around $20 to a few hundred dollars, and rare or antique vases can be worth vastly more.

The record for the most expensive vase comes with a famous complication. In 2010, an 18th-century Qianlong vase was auctioned in the UK with a hammer price of £43 million, roughly $68 to $80 million with fees, but the winning bidder refused to pay and the sale fell through. The vase was later sold in a private deal in 2013 for at least £20 million, or about $31.5 million, which is the figure Guinness World Records recognizes as the most expensive vase ever sold, even though the £43 million hammer price remains the highest amount ever bid for one at auction.