Compact Mirror
Date: about 320 BCE
Dimensions:
Diam (mirror disc): 5 7/16 in.; Diam (cover): 5 3/8 in.
Medium: Bronze with tin
Place of Origin: Greece, from southern Italy
Classification: Metalwork
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1966.111A-B
Label Text:In order to protect the tin-plated reflecting surface from damage (opposite the concentric rings), the two parts of this mirror were hinged together. The cover is decorated with a separately made profile head of a woman with elegant hair and jewelry—probably Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. The underside of the cover (most easily viewed by looking into the mirror from the other side of the case) has an engraved drawing of the goddess crouching beside a bathing basin in a cave, perhaps representing a rural sanctuary dedicated to her.
DescriptionCover ornamented with repoussé relief of female head in profile. Underside of cover ornamented with a kneeling Aphrodite. Reverse of mirror disc incised with concentric circles.
On view
In Collection(s)