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Etruscan mirrors are bronze discs with a polished reflecting surface (obverse), either flat or convex, held by a handle or set in a box. The reverse side of a handle mirror is concave, and frequently decorated with engraving or occasionally with relief, usually with a scene from mythology or daily life. Bronze mirror boxes are sometimes decorated on the lid with relief sculpture. The earliest Etruscan mirrors appear around 540 BCE and the latest are dated to the third or second century BCE. Etruscan mirrors are numerous, with over 3,000 surviving today.

Introduction

Typology

Etruscan mirrors may be subdivided into a small number of recognizable types. First, they can be categorized in two main groups: handle or grip mirrors and box mirrors.

Handle mirrors make up the bulk of the extant Etruscan mirrors. These are so named because they were meant to he gripped by the handle, and can be further subdivided based on shape, handle and tang type. The two most basic shapes of Etruscan mirrors are polished discs that are circular or elliptical. Elliptical mirrors, also known as solar mirrors, have a slightly oval shape, and are among the earliest examples of Etruscan mirrors. Both elliptical and circular mirrors could be furnished with separately made tangs, which were then inserted into handles. These tangs were attached to the mirrors with two or three small rivets, and came in a variety of shapes. The independent handles the tangs were inserted into were usually made of another material, and could be quite decorative. Most independent handles had carved animal heads, but they could also be decorated with palmettes, "little heads", or look like columns. Elliptical and circular mirrors could also have attached tangs, which again allowed for an independent handle to be attached. These mirrors were constitute a second subdivision of handle mirrors, in which the tangs are made in one-piece with the mirror. The independent handles that are fit onto one-piece mirrors were generally made of wood, bone, horn or ivory, and rarely bronze. The pear, or piriform, shape makes up the final shape of the second type of hand mirrors.

Box mirrors can be separated into two main types: bronze circular box mirrors and wooden square box mirrors. Circular box mirrors consist of two circular discs (or lids) joined by a hinge, with the upper lid being slightly larger than the lower lid (or mirror case). The hinge allows the two lids to open and reveal the reflective mirror in the lower lid. The hinge also usually has a loop handle which was used to hang the box mirror on a wall or other surface. Often, a smaller handle was positioned directly opposite the loop handle on the upper lid, which aided in lifting the lid to open the box mirror. Decoration on the box mirrors occurred on the medallion, usually consisted of high relief (rather than engraving), and there was almost always a border. No square box mirrors survive, but they are represented in Etruscan art. Examples on Etruscan cinerary urns show that square and rectangular box mirrors, perhaps made of wood, also existed and contained circular mirrors rather than square or rectangular mirrors.

Materials and Techniques

The primary material for making Etruscan mirrors was bronze. A majority of the mirrors that have been found have been made of bronze, with a high copper content (around 70-90%) and a relatively high tin content (with tin usually filling most of the remaining percentage). Trace amounts of other metals, such as zinc and lead, have been found – usually less than 1% . Occasionally, a mirror will be found that was made of another material. A fully lead mirror is included in the collection at [Cambridge], but is widely considered to likely be a fake. A silver mirror in included in the collection at [?], but its veracity is uncertain as it is the only known silver mirror.

When it comes to the technique used to create these mirrors, there are two competing theories on how it was done. It is clear that most (if not all) relief mirrors were cast inside a mold, as this would be the best way to achieve the three-dimensional relief. Engraved mirrors were either cast in a mold, hammered, or both . Those that were cast in a mold are believed to have used the lost-wax method, which would account for the lack of evidence of the molds (as the mold is destroyed after making the first mirror)

Designs on the surface of the mirrors were achieved through one of two methods: chasing, and engraving. Chasing and engraving are both similar in that they both create grooves in the metal of the mirror. They are different in that chasing creates a raised groove on either side of the line via displacing the metal of the mirror surface, and engraving creates the line by removing the metal from the surface. Some have postulated that chasing was the primary mode of decoration and was then superseded by engraving, but studies of decoration and dating support the idea that the two styles were used concurrently.

Contexts

Funerary (Tomb Groups)

Many Etruscan mirrors do not have a provenance or tomb group associated with them, but the mirrors that do provide a wealth of information. As of the most recent count, there are about 86 tombs recorded, inside and outside of Etruria, that contained over 100 Etruscan mirrors. The tomb groups date from the 6th century BCE to the 2nd century BCE. Most of the mirrors date to the 3rd century BCE, about 47%. The second largest group comes from the 5th century BCE, about 24%.

In Southern Etruria, the cities of Tarquinia and Viterbo have the highest recorded concentration of tomb groups with Etruscan mirrors. In Northern Etruria, Chiusi and Volterra have the highest recorded concentration. Outside of Etruria, Bologna has the most tombs with Etruscan mirrors.

The gender of the tombs, when known, is almost always female. A few exceptions occur where there is a double burial of a man and woman, presumed to be a husband and wife. Most of the excavation reports of the tombs do not contain information about the skeletal remains, leaving the identification of the tomb to be based on the accompanying grave goods. While some scholars debate whether some tombs have been misidentified based on their grave goods, the prevailing theory is still that mirrors are female objects.

Along with the mirrors, several types of artifacts in tomb groups are recurring. Black-gloss ware cups, jugs, bowls, and vases are very common in these tombs. Non-ceramic items, such as fibulae, spindle whorls, jewelry, and strigils are also common. These non-ceramic items have frequently been used to identify the gender of the tombs.

In relation to tomb gender, almost all of the tombs are of adults rather than children. There are three exceptions, two of which contain a burial of a mother and child with mirrors. The third is a genuine child burial with a mirror, but it is in a sanctuary rather than a necropolis or grave site.

The placement of the mirrors in the tombs is also valuable information when it is recorded. Most mirrors are placed near the deceased, whether it is next to the skeleton, sarcophagus, or ash urn. The exact placement of the mirror next to the body varies greatly. It can be placed by the head, shoulder, thigh, or feet. The most common location is next to the feet.

The scenes on the mirrors found in tomb groups depict a wide array of subjects, the majority of the mirrors are not engraved or else depict a single figure of a Lasa. The Dioskouroi make a small appearance on about nine mirrors, and the remaining mirrors depict two/three/four figure groups showing mythological scenes, mythological figures, or mixed human and mythological scenes.

Inscriptions on Etruscan Mirrors

The mirrors with inscriptions have always been considered of particular interest, since they provide clues, often with surprising results, about who or what is represented on the mirrors (basic is Bonfante and de Grummond 1982). Inscriptions are mainly in Etruscan, but they also occur on Praenestine mirrors in the local dialect related to Latin. A count of the total proportion of inscribed Etruscan mirrors, based on a sample of 912 specimens, found that 106, or 11.6%, were inscribed (de Grummond 2002, 309). A recent listing of all known mirrors with Etruscan inscriptions in the Etruskische Texte of Rix and Meiser (2014) contained 315 entries, indicating a similar percentage, considering that the total number of Etruscan mirrors surviving is generally estimated to be around 3000 or slightly more. The largest number comes from Vulci (31), to which may be added the Ager Vulcentanus (7). Volsinii (Orvieto, Bolsena and other sites) has 29.

There are some 6 types of inscriptions on Etruscan and Praenestine mirrors: labels for figures (far and away the most common), owners' names, dedications, explanatory captions, funerary labels, and artists' signatures. The name labels are of several different categories, encompassing characters from Etruscan mythology, Greek mythology and seemingly daily life. The labels of Etruscan mythological and legendary figures are of enormous value because they tell us of mythological beings that otherwise would be unknown.

So far, the artists' names seem to occur only on Praenestine mirrors.

Styles and Schools

Spiky Garland Mirrors

The Spiky Garland is a specific repeated motif often seen at the end of the 3rd C BCE, usually in the area around Orvieto. They consist of a garland made of spikes (similar to those on a holly leaf, or a thistle) that arch from the bottom of the mirror, along the sides, and meet in the center at the top. Usually at the four cardinal points of the mirror will be some kind of “slider” or ring, identified by Beazley as a “Bakchos ring” that appears to hold the garland together. This is not preserved in all four spots on every mirror, and, indeed, some mirrors do not have any Bakchos ring at all.

In the center, on the medallion, is engraved a multi-figural scene, ranging from two to five figures. The four figure scene is the most common, and tends to follow a specific iconographic program. Two females (sometimes a male and female) stand in the center, with one slightly in front of the other. The forward female is nude, and the rear female is usually dressed. They are flanked by two male figures, either seated or standing, who bend to follow the curve of the garland.

Approximately one third of the mirrors are inscribed (meaning that their figures are identifiable), and the main topics of these mirrors are mythograpic in nature. Menrva (Athena/Minerva) is the most identified, with Elχsntre (Alexander/Paris) and Laran tying for the second place. The most common scene overall is the four-figure discussion scene that seems to be a version of the Judgment of Paris. Other scenes include iconic depictions of the dioskouroi, sacra conversazione, and narrative scenes from different myths. The sacra conversazione is a group of seated deities who seem to discourse, and there is no narrative action. True narrative scenes occur with stories such as the killing of Troilus, the judgment of Paris, or the birth of Menrva.

Bibliography

Carpino, A. 2003. Disks of Splendor: The Relief Mirrors of the Etruscans. Madison.

Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum

Bonfante, L. and N.T. de Grummond. 1982. "Inscriptions on Etruscan Mirrors." In de Grummond, ed., 1982, 69-78.

de Grummond, N.T. ed., 1982. A Guide to Etruscan Mirrors, Tallahassee.

de Grummond, N. T. 2002. “Etruscan Mirrors Now.” AJA 106:307-311.

de Grummond, Nancy T. 2006. Etruscan Mythology, Sacred History and Legend. Philadelphia, University Museum.

Gerhard, E., A. Klügmann, and G. Körte. 1840-1897. Etruskische Spiegel. 5 vols. Berlin.

Ridgway, F. R. S. 1992. “Etruscan Mirrors in the Louvre, and the Corpus.” Journal of Roman Archaeology 5:279–283.

Ridgway, F. R. S. 2000, "Etruscan mirrors and archaeological context." Journal of Roman Archaeology 13: 407-418.

Stopponi, S. 2012. "Il Fanunum Voltumnae: dale divinita di Tluschva a San Pietro." In Annali: Della Fondazione Peri Il Museo Claudio Faina. Volume XIX. Orvieto.

Rix, H. and G. Meiser. 2014. Etruskische Texte. Editio minor. 2 vols. Tübingen.