Lot 112, Auction 3/19/2026: Roman Bronze Mirror with Handle

$455.00

In stock

Roman, Imperial period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A weighty disc of bronze, this Roman mirror carries the authority of an object that once knew candlelight, skin, and the practiced gestures of daily life. Its circular form is spare and purposeful, interrupted only by a narrow integral tang handle, a design that favors balance over ornament and function over display. Cast in bronze and worked to a smooth plane, the reflective surface has long since yielded its polish to time. In its place lies a richly variegated patina, shifting across deep olive, charcoal, and softened green, a surface shaped by centuries of burial and mineral transformation. The reverse remains undecorated and subtly convex, reinforcing the Roman preference for disciplined form and practical clarity. Size: 4.5″ W x 6.2″ H (11.4 cm x 15.7 cm)

Bronze mirrors of this type were common personal objects throughout the Roman world, used for grooming, ritual preparation, and moments of self presentation. They are frequently recovered from domestic and funerary contexts, where they may have carried associations of beauty, identity, and continuity beyond life. The absence of figural or incised decoration aligns this example with earlier and more utilitarian traditions, rooted in everyday Roman experience rather than elite spectacle. Direct, enduring, and tactile, this mirror once reflected a living gaze and now reflects the material culture of the Imperial world itself, preserved in a single, resolute circle of bronze.

Condition: Weathering and abrasions to surface commensurate with age, but, otherwise, intact and very nice with rich patina throughout.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Los Angeles, California, USA collection; ex-major gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA, primarily acquired between 1985 and 2005

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all purchases.

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