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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1978.486
Title
Mirror with Repoussé Decoration Depicting Venus Victrix
Classification
Mirrors
Work Type
mirror
Date
1st century BCE-2nd century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Roman period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304107

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze, one side with traces of gilding
Technique
Repoussé
Dimensions
9.3 x 9 cm (3 11/16 x 3 9/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, gold, iron
Comments: There are traces of gilding on one side of the object.
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The mirror surface is green. One small area where the green has flaked off is bright and reflective. There are several areas of damage to the gilding, which have turned dark brown. A reddish lacquer-like residue is present in many areas. The gilt repoussé component has been partially lost. Restoration material fills the gap between this sheet and the mirror itself.

The mirror disc is cast. It is slightly convex on the polished surface and concave on the side attached to the gilt repoussé sheet. The repoussé component is c. 2 mm thick. The repoussé decorations, which are c. 3 mm high for the most prominent figures, were impressed from the reverse. The lack of crisp detail in the relief is because the sheet was not worked from the front. Although it is possible that molds or sculpted stamps were used in pressing the decorations, there is no visible evidence of this, such as identical patterns in the border design. Although the back of the cast mirror is exposed, there is no obvious residue of the adhesive or solder that might have been used to adhere the gilt sheet. The bottom edge of the small mirror was filed flat over a 2.5 cm length. A bracket-shaped impression in the corrosion products on the mirror side at this location indicates that a handle, hinge, or similar element was once attached there.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Leo Mildenberg (since 1959) gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1978.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Leo Mildenberg
Accession Year
1978
Object Number
1978.486
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
One side of this mirror disc bears gilt relief decoration depicting Venus (Aphrodite) surrounded by three cupids and a male figure. The goddess stands with her back to the viewer, a cloth wrapped around her left arm and her lower torso, leaving the rest of her body exposed. Her face is in profile, looking down at the crested Corinthian helmet that is balanced on her extended right hand. Her left elbow is resting on top of a column, and she appears to hold a long scepter or spear in her left hand. She wears a simple diadem; her hair is pulled back into a bun. Flying above the goddess are two confronted male cupids; each holds a wreath over the head of the goddess. Another winged cupid stands below her right hand. He is also nude and holds a filleted wreath up to her in his right hand. To the left of the column, a small nude adult male stands in profile to the right. He is clearly an adult but represented at the same scale as the child-like cupids. He holds a scepter or spear in his lowered right hand and another, unclear accoutrement in his left hand. Next to the male figure, a round shield with segments and a pair of greaves lean against the column, which is decorated by a single garland.

The adult male figure in this scene is unusual, perhaps representing Priapus (1). Variations on this scene are known on other mirrors, where all four figures around Venus are cupids (2). The weapons and armor depicted in these scenes indicate that the central goddess is Venus Victrix.

NOTES:

1. See A. Cohen, “‘Mistress’ Bronzes from the Classical World,” in Teaching with Objects: The Curatorial Legacy of David Gordon Mitten, ed. A. Brauer (Cambridge, MA, 2010) 76-91, esp. 76-83, esp. 83-86.

2. Compare G. Zahlhaas, Römische Reliefspiegel, Kataloge der Prähistorischen Staatssammlung 17 (Kallmünz, 1975) 32-33 and 76, nos. 20-22, pls. 20-21.

Lisa M. Anderson

Publication History

  • Anna-Maria Cannatella, Within the Atrium: A Context for Roman Daily Life, exh. cat., J. S. McCarthy Printers (Augusta, ME, 1997), no. 38.
  • Ada Cohen, "'Mistress' Bronzes from the Classical World", Teaching with Objects: The Curatorial Legacy of David Gordon Mitten, ed. Amy Brauer, Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2010), pp. 76-91, fig. 3
  • Susanne Ebbinghaus, ed., Ancient Bronzes through a Modern Lens: Introductory Essays on the Study of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes, Harvard Art Museum and Yale University Press (Cambridge, MA, 2014), p. 82

Exhibition History

  • Within the Atrium: A Context for Roman Daily Life, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, 04/01/1997 - 06/08/1997

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes
  • Roman Domestic Art

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