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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1895.241.E
Title
Part of a Box Mirror
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Mirror
Classification
Mirrors
Work Type
mirror
Date
mid 4th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Classical period, Late
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303465

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
15.7 x 0.5 cm (6 3/16 x 3/16 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina on the mirror side is predominantly light green and tan with some darker greenish black near one edge. On the reverse, the patina is also a mottled light green with some brown areas where the exposed metal has oxidized. The dendritic structure that is characteristic of cast metal is very visible in those sections. There are also brown burial deposits. A damaged area at the center of the turned lines on the interior shows the remains of lead solder, which is evidence of an attachment.

This element is unconnected to the smaller mirror components of 1895.241.A, 1895.241.B, 1895.241.C, 1895.241.D, and 1895.241.G. It was cast by the lost-wax process, and the decorative bands were refinished in the metal. Chisel marks going in a variety of directions are visible within the central diameter (2.0 cm) of the reverse side, as if to remove excess material. There is a relatively thin layer of corrosion. Most of the pieces assembled under 1895.241 have at least a few small crystalline black growths of copper sulfide that result from their post-excavation storage conditions.


Carol Snow and Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2002, updated 2012)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Professor C.E. Norton and Richard Norton
Accession Year
1895
Object Number
1895.241.E
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The reflecting side of this mirror disc is flat. It would have been part of a box mirror (Klappspiegel). Its outer edge is marked by a narrow zone bound by two low ridges. The vertical edge, slanting inward, is slightly concave. The underside bears a central circle surrounded by a shallow concave channel that is bordered by delicate vertical ridges. This central feature is then surrounded by a convex zone, enclosed within two low ridges, slightly wider than the ones around the center.

David G. Mitten

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Objects

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu