This beautiful Etruscan mirror is a excellent example of its type, with vibrant figures and a rich emerald green patina. The bottom of the handle is missing, but most likely terminated in an animal’s head. The obverse, which once reflected the viewer’s face, is plain, decorated only with a simple stylized palmette motif on the handle. The reverse of this circular mirror is decorated with an incised scene: four figures, two men and two woman, all wearing pointed Phrygian hats, are engaged in conversation before a building topped with a pediment. Hand mirrors such as this one, were produced from about 530 to 100 B.C. in Etruria, a region of central Italy between the Tiber and Arno rivers. These mirrors, with their elaborately incised scenes, serve as an essential source for our knowledge of Etruscan religion, mythology and language.

All e-Tiquities have been searched in the Art Loss Register database.