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Source Description
Named for their figured handles, Greek caryatid mirrors may derive from similar types created in ancient Egypt many centuries earlier (like <a href="https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.196">CMA 1983.196</a>). 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
128045
label
Mirror
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
128045
contentType
object
title
Mirror
description
Named for their figured handles, Greek caryatid mirrors may derive from similar types created in ancient Egypt many centuries earlier (like <a href="https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.196">CMA 1983.196</a>). 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.
date
c. 470–460 BCE
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60760135
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 15.3 cm (6 in.); Overall: 38.8 cm (15 1/4 in.)
cul
Greece, Sicyon(?)
accession
1950.7
Source extras
tec
bronze
tombstone
Mirror, c. 470–460 BCE. Greece, Sicyon(?). Bronze; diameter: 15.3 cm (6 in.); overall: 38.8 cm (15 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1950.7
collection
GR - Greek
didYouKnow
The term <em>caryatid</em> from classical architecture refers to the female figure serving as a support.
citations
citation
Frankel, Max. <em>Archäologische Zeitung</em> Vol. 37 (1879). Berlin: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut. 1880.
page_number
Mentioned p. 204
citation
Michaelis, Adolf, and C. A. M. Fennell. <em>Ancient Marbles in Great Britain</em>. Cambridge: University Press, 1882.
page_number
p. 631, no. 39
citation
Dumont, Albert. <em>Les Céramiques de la Grèce propre</em>. Paris: Firmin Didot, 1889.
page_number
p. 252, no. 32
citation
Burlington Fine Arts Club, and Eugénie Strong.<em> Exhibition of Ancient Greek Art.</em> London: Printed for the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1904.
page_number
Mentioned p. 38, cat. no. 8, Reproduced pl. XLV
citation
Schebelew, <em>Materialen zur Archaologie Russlands</em>, vol. XXXII (1907).
page_number
p. 22ff.
citation
Smith, Cecil Harcourt-, and Caroline Amy Hutton. <em>Catalogue of the Antiquities (Greek, Etruscan and Roman) in the Collection of the Late Wyndham Francis Cook</em>. London: Printed by Metchim for private circulation, 1908.
page_number
No. 46, Plate XXXV
citation
Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies (London, England).<em> The Journal of Hellenic Studies</em>. London: Published by the Council of the Society (1908)
page_number
no. 1 & 4
citation
Reinach, Salomon. <em>Repertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine</em>. Paris: E. Leroux, Vol. IV (1913).
page_number
p. 196
citation
Neugebauer, Karl Anton. <em>Antike Bronzestatuetten</em>. Berlin: Schoetz & Parrhysius, 1921.
page_number
p. 45, pl. 25
citation
Cook, Humphrey W., and Sir Francis Cook.<em> 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.</em> [London]: [publisher not identified], 1925.
page_number
p. 27, no. 127
citation
Franck, Elisabeth. <em>Griechische Standspiegel mit menschlicher Stützfigur</em>. 1925.
page_number
no. 20
citation
Langlotz, Ernst.<em> Frühgriechische Bildhauerschulen</em>. [Tafeln] [Tafeln]. Nürnberg: Fromann, 1927.
page_number
p. 30, no. 5
citation
The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d.
page_number
N4567
citation
Wunderlich, Silvia A. "A Greek Bronze Mirror." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 38, no. 1 (1951)
page_number
p. 4-15
citation
"Recent Important Acquisitions of American Collections" <em>The Art Quarterly </em>(Spring 1951).
page_number
p. 80, 83-4
citation
Karouzou, Semnē. <em>Attic Bronze Mirrors</em>. [Robinson Studies, Vol. 1 (1951).
page_number
p. 585
citation
International Association for Classical Archaeology.<em> Fasti archaeologici.</em> Firenze: Sansoni Editore, Vol. VI (1953).
page_number
cat. no. 1636, p. 125 & 7, fig. 32
citation
Jacobsthal, Paul. <em>Greek Pins and Their Connexions with Europe and Asia.</em> Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956.
page_number
p. 112
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 13
citation
H.G. Niemeyer, <em>Promachos</em> (1960).
page_number
p. 53, n. 194
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 21
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 21
citation
Hoffmann, Herbert. <em>Collecting Greek Antiquities.</em> New York: C.N. Potter, 1971.
page_number
p. 53-56, figs. 43a,b
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, Gabriel P. Weisberg, and H. W. Janson. <em>Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture.</em> Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 22
citation
Tölle-Kastenbein, Renate.<em> Frühklassische Peplosfiguren: Originale</em>. Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern, 1980.
page_number
p. 136-7, cat. no. 19c
citation
Congdon, Lenore O. Keene. <em>Caryatid Mirrors of Ancient Greece: Technical, Stylistic and Historical Considerations of an Archaic and Early Classical Bronze Series</em>. Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern, 1981.
page_number
p. 151-2, No. 33, pl. 29-31
citation
Kozloff, Arielle P., and Sara Jane Pearman. "Further Reflections." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 71, no. 8 (1984).
page_number
p. 276-79
citation
Kozloff, Arielle P. Classical Art: <em>A Brief Guide to the Collection, the Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland]: The Museum, 1989.
page_number
p. 6
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 8
citation
Schwarzmeier, Agnes. "A Greek Box Mirror in the Cleveland Museum of Art." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 80, no. 9 (1993): 354-67.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 366
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-17 11:19:43.747000
sourceId
128045
dept
Greek and Roman Art
coll
GR - Greek
med
bronze
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
469b64fb85d0b6cb