In this work, the cupped hands of Brown University Classics Professor Sasha Mae Eccleston present the viewer with a scarab. The insect, also known as a dung beetle, characteristically rolls its egg intoa ball of excrement, burying the ball to ensure a safe place for incubation. Three months later, the offspring emerge, ready to repeat the life cycle.

Ancient Egyptians believed the scarab to be a reincarnation of Khepri, the God of resurrection and creation. During a period of Mediterranean migration (1st millenium BCE) , the scarab myth spread beyond egypt and entered Greco-Roman religious practices as a symbol of renewal, growth, and transformation.

Janus, the Roman God of beginnings, is generally depicted as having two faces, providing a view to both past and future at once. The Janiform vases found in Northern Italy notably depict the faces as one white and one Black. The appearance of both Scarabs and Janiform vases here suggests the cross-cultural exchange that occurred between Ancient Egypt and the larger Roman Empire.

During his residency in Rome, Villalongo visited numerous archeological collections where he discovered a surprising number of Janiform vases. While preserved, the vessels lacked documentation and research, making a case for the need for greater study in the area of Black history in Western antiquity.