Ancient miniature bronze mirror, circle engraved & tinned, 2nd-1st century BC
$465.00 AUD
Ancient miniature bronze mirror, decorated with seven graduating circles scoured into one side, the other side with a tinned reflective surface.
Roman period,
2nd-1st century BC
5cm
Good condition with stable surface, some encrustation.
Provenance: purchased London 1990’s
Mirrors were a part of Bronze Age cultures right from the earliest Egyptian examples c. 4,000 years ago; the idea of making a reflection visible in brightly polished bronze was a natural development of the technology, as shown by Chinese examples of the same era, developed independently. The Ancient Greeks created similar mirrors to this mirror in the 5th-4th century BC, engraved with concentric circles, handleless, and as a valuable item, designed to be stored in a small box. The Romans continued this tradition in every corner of their empire, and this example would date to this period, 2nd-1st century BC. The engraved circle motif is often mirrored in Celtic art, and seven rings probably has a religious/ritual meaning.
Mirrors became rare with the collapse of the Roman world, disappearing from Europe during the ‘Dark Ages’ until re-emerging in the early Medieval world.
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