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Description: | A cast lead hand-mirror frame. An interesting object and one without a secure parallel at the time of writing. The frame is broken and distorted and so its original shape is unclear. The two broken edges are a mismatch and both have the remainder of a perforation visible, suggesting that another portion of the frame, perhaps a boss of some sort, is missing. If so the shape may be more or less correct as shown. The frame is decorated in each corner with stylised winged cherub or angel heads. The wings extend to the middle of the frame sides and are separated by central raised dots. These winged heads are individually rendered; they are not simply the moulded replications of each other. The external edge and the internal edge of the frame are bevelled and reverse of the frame is plain.The small number of Roman period square and rectangular lead mirror frames found in Britain all bear some resemblance to it, but none are so elaborate. Perhaps the closest example in terms of form and style is a continental production; a securely dated frame from the Caseggiato di Diana (House of Diana) in Ostia, Italy (see http://www.ostia-antica.org/regio1/3/3-3.htm). This frame also has a head in the angle of each corner, but here they are of recognisable Roman deities.The following extract from "Mirrors in Roman Britain" by G Lloyd-Morgan, explains something of Roman glass mirrors and their lead frames,'Despite the Elder Pliny's reference to glass mirrors excavation has not so far produced any examples this early in date. This may be due to the extremely delicate state of the glass which may be less that 0.03 cm thick. A number of pieces have been found in this country. The largest collection was found in the cemetery at Ospringe in Kent when 6 mirrors were found. One was found at Reculver about the same time and another - one of the larger pieces in existence - comes from York. It is more common , however to find the covers of frames for the mirrors. As these are usually of lead - at least in the western part of the empire - they have usually survived much better than the mirror they were supposed to protect. They are usually well decorated and cast in a variety of shapes and forms, sometimes with encouraging messages like the piece from Nijmegen or have the makers name as on another piece from the same locality. This one is particularly interesting as the surviving mirrors have the silvering intact, an bitumen on the back of the frame to hold the glass in place'In addition to those British mirrors mentioned by Lloyd-Morgan there are also examples from Verulamiun and Chester (Nuns Field excavations 1964 (unpublished) now in the Grosvernor Museum width 5.0 cm, diam for opening for mirror 2.65cm). They are both without their mirrors.However this example does have certain attributes that lend it a Post-Medieval 'feel'. In any case, the vast majoriy of the small finds from the same locality are of the period 1250-1600 and this contextual evidence suggests that a later date for this piece, though not exactly reliable, is perhaps more likely than an earlier one. The closest Post- Medieval parallel is not a lead mirror frame itself but the wooden back of one found in the Mary Rose at Plymouth. Record number 5727, identity number 81A4139 on the database of the Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth. This object has similar dimensions, is a very good match for this frame and shows that the original shape may well have been a simple square.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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