Miniature Mirror

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Artist
Name	Unknown
Basic Info
Period	Archaic period to Hellenistic
Created in	Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Etruria
Century	5th-4th century BCE
Culture	Etruscan
Dimensions	6.9 x 4.8 x 3.4 cm (2 11/16 x 1 7/8 x 1 5/16 in.)
Harvard Museum
Department	Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics
Division	Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact	am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Context

This miniature bronze mirror is oval, with a short, plain tang that tapers slightly toward the point. The tang has recently been cut into a straight edge on one side. One side of the mirror is smooth, while the other is somewhat pitted. The edge of the mirror is rough. The mirror bears no decoration or inscriptions.
 
Miniature objects are common in the ancient world, although most miniature objects are ceramic vessels. They are often thought to have had a ritual, votive purpose or to have been toys for children (1).
 
NOTES:
 
1. Compare a group of miniature armor in R. D. De Puma, Etruscacn Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 2014) 169, nos. 5.31-32.a-d.
 
Lisa M. Anderson

TechnicalDetails

Technical Observations

The patina is a varied green with spots of red, and dark brown accretions are present. Mineralization is deep, and small chips are missing from the edges in many areas. Scrape marks from a modern cleaning are also present. The sides of the handle have been filed down to bright metal for no known reason. About one-tenth of the mirror’s shiny surface on the convex side is preserved, although it has mineralized to green. 
 
The small mirror is quite thick and was presumably formed by casting. It is not perfectly round. No decorative enhancements are visible.
 
Henry Lie (submitted 2011)

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University