Contain: TO HOLD. To compromise; to have it in ME. To measure; to be equal to ME. To take up, occupy. To enclose. To hold together. To keep under control, restrain, restrict, confine,; to retain. To restrain oneself; be continent, keep oneself in chastity. The action or fact of containing; holding; restraint. (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary 3rd Ed. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1973) Suppose this could be said to apply to all walks of life, not just ceramics.
Bridget Macklin 
What are you trying to tell us?
Just thinking about the way we contain more than physical stuff in a container – memories, emotions, other people’s anxieties etc.
Thoughtful!