Roman Bronze Marriage Mirror with Facing Busts with Inscription

CIRCA 4TH CENTURY A.D.

3 5/8 in. (130 grams, 91 mm).

Discoid in plan with a beaded rim and concentric rings, at the centre two draped busts, a male and a female, with faint remains of inscription surrounding; the other side polished and tinned.

Provenance

UK private collection before 2000.
London collection, acquired on the UK art market.

Literature

Cf. Beutler, F. et al., Der Adler Roms. Carnuntum und der Armee der Cäsaren, Bad-Deutsch Altenberg, 2017, items 858,860, for type.

Footnotes

The image on the back of the mirror depicts an imperial couple from the 4th century. The type of diadem worn by the male figure—clad in a paludamentum and cuirass—and the man's profile, suggest a depiction of Constantine and Fausta, or of Constantine and his mother Helena.

CONDITION

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LOT 0103