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Source Description
Cast in one piece, this bronze mirror features a handle terminating in a stylized deer head. The front side of the disc, once highly polished and reflective, would have served as a mirror, while the reverse—now on display—features an engraved figural scene. Best observed with the aid of a <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/25159824">line drawing</a>, this shows a bearded man holding a small child whom he threatens with his sword. Although it lacks inscriptions and certain expected iconographical features, this scene may represent the wounded warrior Telephos holding the young Orestes hostage as he sought a cure for an unhealing wound. The older woman kneeling at right may be the boy's nursemaid, while the nude young woman restraining the man could represent Lasa, an Etruscan nymph-like guardian figure.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
101271
label
Mirror with Engraved Scene: Man Threatening Child (Telephos and Orestes?)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
101271
contentType
object
title
Mirror with Engraved Scene: Man Threatening Child (Telephos and Orestes?)
description
Cast in one piece, this bronze mirror features a handle terminating in a stylized deer head. The front side of the disc, once highly polished and reflective, would have served as a mirror, while the reverse—now on display—features an engraved figural scene. Best observed with the aid of a <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/25159824">line drawing</a>, this shows a bearded man holding a small child whom he threatens with his sword. Although it lacks inscriptions and certain expected iconographical features, this scene may represent the wounded warrior Telephos holding the young Orestes hostage as he sought a cure for an unhealing wound. The older woman kneeling at right may be the boy's nursemaid, while the nude young woman restraining the man could represent Lasa, an Etruscan nymph-like guardian figure.
date
c. 330–300 BCE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60748969
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 33 cm (13 in.)
cul
Italy, Etruscan, probably Praenestine
accession
1920.17
Source extras
tec
bronze
tombstone
Mirror with Engraved Scene: Man Threatening Child (Telephos and Orestes?), c. 330–300 BCE. Italy, Etruscan, probably Praenestine. Bronze; overall: 33 cm (13 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. John Huntington, 1920.170
collection
GR - Etruscan
didYouKnow
The largely unadorned front side of this mirror would have been highly polished and reflective.
citations
citation
"Accessions." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 7, no. 7 (1920): 109-10.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 109
citation
De Puma, Richard Daniel. "A Fourth Century Praenestine Mirror with Telephos and Orestes." <em>Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaeologischen Instituts Roemische Abteilung </em>87 (1980): 5-28.
citation
De Puma, Richard Daniel. "Greek Myths on Three Etruscan Mirrors in Cleveland." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 70, no. 7 (1983): 290-302.
page_number
Discussed pp. 296-301, figs. 17-21.
citation
De Puma, Richard Daniel. <em>Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum, U.S.A. volume 1: Midwestern Collections</em>. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1987.
page_number
Pp. 28-29, 112-116 (cat. 14, figs. 14a-e).
creditline
Gift of Mrs. John Huntington
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:28:29.143000
sourceId
101271
dept
Greek and Roman Art
coll
GR - Etruscan
med
bronze
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
6a31351c8715cb48