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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1977.216.3395
Title
Part of a Box Mirror
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Disc of a Box Mirror (Klappspeigal)
Classification
Mirrors
Work Type
mirror
Date
4th-3rd century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Cyprus
Period
Classical period, Late, to Hellenistic
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304032

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
14.8 cm (5 13/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Leaded Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, lead
Other Elements: zinc, iron, arsenic
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is greenish brown. The surface is pitted and porous, and it appears to have been stripped and artificially repatinated. There have been small losses to the edges, and the surface is poorly preserved. The mirror was made by casting, and the circular designs were engraved while turning.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, G. G. Van Rensselaer Fund
Accession Year
1977
Object Number
1977.216.3395
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
This disc is an element of a hinged box mirror, also known as a Klappspiegel (1). A box mirror consisted of two discs that stacked together, joined by a hinge. One disc functioned as the mirror, the other as the protective cover. The flat exterior side is plain and smooth; the only detail is the beveled edge. The convex bottom is decorated with raised and incised bands of concentric circles. The edge of the disc is featureless, and the surface in this area is somewhat rough.

NOTES:

1. Compare L. P. di Cesnola, A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 3 (Boston, 1903) pl. 60.2. The Harvard mirror is known to have been part of the Cesnola collection. See also J. W. Hayes, Greek, Roman, and Related Metalware in the Royal Ontario Museum: A Catalogue (Toronto, 1984) 188-93, nos. 316-23; and B. Borell, Statuetten, Gefässe und andere Gegenstände aus Metall, Katalog der Sammlung antiker Kleinkunst des Archäologischen Instituts der Universität Heidelberg 3.1 (Mainz, 1989) 127-28, no. 139, pl. 52.

Lisa M. Anderson

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

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