ROMAN LEAD VOTIVE MIRROR WITH DECORATION
Ca. 100-300 AD.
A beautiful lead votive mirror, with a circular disk and rectangular handle with scroll-shaped supports. The obverse is covered with several concentric registers of moulded decoration, arranged around a central rondel, where the reflective material would have been placed. Votive mirrors were dedicated to the Roman gods, usually by women, as a way of thanking them for divine assistance or protection. For more information see Kiernan, P. (2009) Miniature Votive Offerings in the North-West Provinces of the Roman Empire, Verlag Franz Philipp Rutzen; Kouzov, C. (2002) Lead Roman mirrors in Varna Archaeological Museum, Archaeologia Bulgarica 6(3), pp. 63-99.
Size: L:90mm / W:58mm ; 45g
Provenance: From the private collection of a South London art professional; previously in a collection formed on the UK/European art market in the 1980s;
Estimate: GBP 150 - 300