Important Gallo-Roman Silver Mirror

Culture: Roman/Gaul

Period: 260-270 A.D.

Material: Silver

Dimensions: 27.6 cm in diameter

Price: 40 000 Euro

Ref: 3784

Provenance: Christie’s Auction London, on 9 December 1992, lot 124. Acquired there by a prominent private collection in the Rhineland. Most recently on the German art market.

Condition: Intact and of outstanding quality.

Description: An exceptionally large and heavy mirror made of solid silver, masterfully crafted in a Gallo-Roman workshop in the second half of the 3rd century A.D. In its design, the mirror closely corresponds to the two known examples from the famous Rethel Silver Hoard, discovered in the town of the same name in the French Département Ardennes. The handle on the reverse is thickened at the centre, tapers outward, and terminates in two broad, upward-curving thumbs with accentuated fingernails. The surface is decorated in fine relief. It depicts overlapping leaves or feathers with a dot pattern at the ends. The handle is connected to a leaf-shaped mount by two bars, which has been soldered to the back of the mirror. The raised rim of this magnificent toiletries item, which once belonged to a high-ranking Gallo-Roman family, is decorated in a manner similar to the handle. It features a continuous band of overlapping leaves or feathers with terminal dot decoration, bordered on the inside and outside by a beaded band. The actual viewing side of the mirror is smoothly polished. See for the type the two mirrors from the aforementioned Rethel Silver Hoard, now in the Musée d’Archéologie Nationale in Saint-Germain-en-Laye with the inventory number MAN 85757. Another similar example was found at Vienne and is now housed there in the Musée des Beaux-Arts with the inventory number 84.3.7. Mounted.