Time has dulled the silvered surface of this ancient mirror, whose back is engraved with a ritual scene perhaps relating to marriage. Time has dulled too the memory of what it once reflected in its depths: only the imagination can see them now. If this mirror could speak, would it tell us of rich palaces carved from marble and hung with silk, or of a beauty so exquisite that even today the mirror smiles with pleasure remembering her flawless complexion, her red lips and her dark eyes.