Mirror with Engraved Scene: Two Female Figures
330–300 BC
Maker Unknown
Greek and Roman Art
Mirror with Engraved Scene: Two Female Figures, 330–300 BC. Italy, Etruscan, 4th century BC. Bronze; overall: 36 cm (14 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1916.2012 Cast in one piece, this bronze mirror features a handle terminating in a stylized deer head. The front side of the disc, once highly polished and reflective, would have served as a mirror, while the reverse—now on display—features an engraved figural scene. Best observed with the aid of a line drawing, this shows two standing women, both draped and looking at one another. Without inscriptions, their identities remain uncertain, but the crescent overhead and the upright spear held by the righthand figure suggest that they may be the goddesses Artumes (Artemis) and Menerfa (Athena). The piriform shape of this mirror suggests that it was produced in Praeneste (modern Palestrina).
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Metalwork
- Formatted Medium
- bronze
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 36 cm (14 3/16 in.)
- Departments
- Greek and Roman Art
- Accession Number
- 1916.2012
- Credit Line
- Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 102D Pre-Roman
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