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Apr 23, 2008

Mirror

c. 470–460 BC

Greece, Sicyon(?), 5th Century BC

Bronze

Diameter: 15.3 cm (6 in.); Overall: 38.8 cm (15 1/4 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1950.7

Location

102C Greek

Did you know?

The term caryatid from classical architecture refers to the female figure serving as a support.

Description

Named for their figured handles, Greek caryatid mirrors may derive from similar types created in ancient Egypt many centuries earlier (like CMA 1983.196). Greek caryatid handles typically take the form of a beautiful, draped woman like this one, whether mortal or divine (perhaps the love goddess Aphrodite). Often, she holds a small offering, here a flower. The small, winged women (Nikai) flanking her are unusual among such mirrors, which often feature Erotes in this position. In antiquity, the unadorned disk would have been highly polished and reflective, and the figure would have stood on an integrated base.

Provenance

Sir Francis Cook, Richmond, England

1908?

Wyndham F. Cook

?-1925

Humphrey W. Cook

1925

(Christie, Manson, & Wood, July 14, 1925)

?-1940

(The International Studio Art Corp, Sold to Joseph Brummer Gallery)

1940-1950

(Joseph Brummer Gallery, New York, NY, Sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1950-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Frankel. Archäologische Zeitung (1843). p. 204

Michaelis, Adolf, and C. A. M. Fennell. Ancient Marbles in Great Britain. Cambridge: University Press, 1882. p. 631, no. 39

Dumont, Albert. Les Céramiques de la Grèce propre. Paris: Firmin Didot, 1889. p. 252, no. 32

Burlington Fine Arts Club, and Eugénie Strong. Exhibition of Ancient Greek Art. London: Printed for the Burlington fine arts club, 1904. p. 38, cat. no. 8, pl. XLV

Schebelew, Materialen zur Archaologie Russlands, vol. XXXII (1907). p. 22ff.

Smith, Cecil Harcourt-, and Caroline Amy Hutton. Catalogue of the Antiquities (Greek, Etruscan and Roman) in the Collection of the Late Wyndham Francis Cook. London: Printed by Metchim for private circulation, 1908. No. 46, Plate XXXV

Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies (London, England). The Journal of Hellenic Studies. London: Published by the Council of the Society (1908) no. 1 & 4

Reinach, Salomon. Repertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine. Paris: E. Leroux, Vol. IV (1913). p. 196

Neugebauer, Karl Anton. Antike Bronzestatuetten. Berlin: Schoetz & Parrhysius, 1921. p. 45, pl. 25

Cook, Humphrey W., and Sir Francis Cook. Catalogue of an Important Collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan Antiquities, and Antique and Renaissance Gems, the Property of Humphrey W. Cook ... Being a Portion of the Celebrated Collection Formed by the Late Sir Francis Cook, Bart. Which Will Be Sold by Auction by Messrs. Christie Manson & Woods. [London]: [publisher not identified], 1925. p. 27, no. 127

Franck, Elisabeth. Griechische Standspiegel mit menschlicher Stützfigur. 1925. no. 20

Langlotz, Ernst. Frühgriechische Bildhauerschulen. [Tafeln] [Tafeln]. Nürnberg: Fromann, 1927. p. 30, no. 5

The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. N4567 libmma.contentdm.oclc.org

Wunderlich, Silvia A. "A Greek Bronze Mirror." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 38, no. 1 (1951) p. 4-15 www.jstor.org

"Recent Important Acquisitions of American Collections" The Art Quarterly (Spring 1951). p. 80, 83-4

Karouzou, Semnē. Attic Bronze Mirrors. [Robinson Studies, Vol. 1 (1951). p. 585

International Association for Classical Archaeology. Fasti archaeologici. Firenze: Sansoni Editore, Vol. VI (1953). cat. no. 1636, p. 125 & 7, fig. 32

Jacobsthal, Paul. Greek Pins and Their Connexions with Europe and Asia. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956. p. 112

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 13 archive.org

H.G. Niemeyer, Promachos (1960). p. 53, n. 194

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 21 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 21 archive.org

Hoffmann, Herbert. Collecting Greek Antiquities. New York: C.N. Potter, 1971. p. 53-56, figs. 43a,b

Cleveland Museum of Art, Gabriel P. Weisberg, and H. W. Janson. Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 22 archive.org

Tölle-Kastenbein, Renate. Frühklassische Peplosfiguren: Originale. Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern, 1980. p. 136-7, cat. no. 19c

Congdon, Lenore O. Keene. Caryatid Mirrors of Ancient Greece: Technical, Stylistic and Historical Considerations of an Archaic and Early Classical Bronze Series. Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern, 1981. p. 151-2, No. 33, pl. 29-31

Kozloff, Arielle P., and Sara Jane Pearman. "Further Reflections." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 8 (1984). p. 276-79 www.jstor.org

Kozloff, Arielle P. Classical Art: A Brief Guide to the Collection, the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Museum, 1989. p. 6

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 8 archive.org

Schwarzmeier, Agnes. "A Greek Box Mirror in the Cleveland Museum of Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 9 (1993): 354-67. Mentioned: p. 366 www.jstor.org

Exhibition history

Exhibition of Ancient Greek Art, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London (1904)

Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

Mirrors: Art and Symbol. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 3-November 18, 1984).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Mirror|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.7|year=c. 470–460 BC|access-date=02 June 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Mirror

Mirror

Greece, Sicyon(?), 5th Century BC

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