The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
Box Mirror with Head of Athena (disk)
330–270 BCE
Diameter: 11.3 cm (4 7/16 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1972.66.b
Location: 102B Greek
Did You Know?
Although now green rather than golden in color, this bronze disk was once polished to a reflective sheen.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 (noncircular) shape; and the method of attachment, with rivets through the relief rather than solder.- {{cite web|title=Box Mirror with Head of Athena (disk)|url=false|author=|year=330–270 BCE|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.66.b