Description
The ancient Greek box mirror resembles a modern, hinged makeup compact in design. While the actual mirror is the top of the bottom half of the box – a highly polished cast-bronze disk – the cover often bears relief decoration. This example features a helmeted head of Athena, a virgin war goddess not typically associated with implements of beauty. Several other aspects suggest that this Athena may have been repurposed from another object in antiquity: the striking difference in patina between relief and case; the irregular (non-circular) shape; and the method of attachment, with rivets through the relief rather than solder.
Provenance
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Accession Number
1972.66.a
Medium
bronze, partially gilt
Dimensions
Diameter: 11.3 cm (4 7/16 in.)
Classification
Metalwork
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund