The passage of time has aided the hand of the artist to create a radiant masterpiece. Though surely its graceful lines and elegant proportions made it attractive to the age that crafted it, the centuries have added a moonlit iridescence and an unseen, but deeply-felt glow of rarity, that are integral parts of its beauty. When this vessel was new, its beauty and delicacy must have delighted all those who saw it. The world has changed in many ways since then--Byzantium is but a golden memory, the glory of the past remains only in faded fragments--but this stunning vase continues to give pleasure. Time has only made it more rare and lovelier, as if its beauty were created centuries ago with the express purpose of enchanting us today. In our own age-long after it was first made-it seems perfect at last.