Compact Mirror

Place of OriginProbably Turkey (reported by dealer)

Date150-100 BCE

DimensionsL overall: 5 1/8 in. (13.1 cm); Diam (dish): 3 1/8 in. (8.0 cm); W (handle): 2 3/32 in. (5.3 cm)

MediumSilver

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1984.69

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionA circular silver disk, originally serving as the cover or lid for a hinged compact mirror (Klappspiegel). The disk is cast and lathe-spun, featuring concentric moldings on both the interior and exterior faces. The exterior face is convex; the interior is slightly concave. Attached to the disk is a cast silver hinge mechanism consisting of two crescent-shaped attachments with curlicue ends soldered to the disk edge. These intermesh with three loops on a swiveling, omega-shaped handle. The handle is rhomboidal in cross-section, transitioning to a round section at the ends where it connects to the hinge, decorated with tooled bead-and-reel moldings. The centering pin mark ("dead center") from the lathe process is visible on one side. The reflecting disk and the lower half of the hinge mechanism are lost.

Label TextFound in a hoard together with the silver spoons sitting next to it as well as a silver dish featuring a nymph and satyr (displayed in a nearby case), this compact mirror was reportedly buried in antiquity. In times of distress, owners would often bury coins and objects made of precious metal for safekeeping. They would then return later to retrieve these items after the danger had passed. This type of ancient mirror had two disks, one with the reflecting surface on the interior and the other a lid with a flanged side to protect the mirror itself. Only the lid, hinge, and loop handle survive.Published ReferencesOliver, Andrew Jr., "New Hellenistic Silver: Mirror, Emblem Dish and Spoons," Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen, vol. 19, 1977, pp. 13-22.

"Important Egyptian, Classical, and Near Eastern Antiquities," Sotheby Catalogue, June 10 and 11, 1983, New York, 1983, lot. 110.

Exhibition HistoryThe Toledo Museum of Art; Kansas City, Atkins Museum of Fine Art; Fort Worth, The Kimbell Art Museum, Silver for the Gods: 800 Years of Greek and Roman Silver, 1977-1978, no. 54, p. 91.