Mirror
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
Early Dynasty 18 metalworkers continued the Middle Kingdom tradition of making mirrors with handles in the form of papyrus plants capped by heads of Hathor, a cow-eared goddess associated with love and music. The slender proportions of the drooping papyrus and the goddess's delicate facial features identify this example as an early Eighteenth Dynasty work.
MEDIUM
Bronze
DATES
ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E.
DYNASTY
early Dynasty 18
PERIOD
New Kingdom
DIMENSIONS
10 15/16 x 5 7/16 x 7/8 in. (27.8 x 13.8 x 2.3 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
37.638E
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Mirror and handle, both of bronze. The handle is in the form of a column with terminal in the form of a double Hathor head. Rising from the head is a highly elongated and curved papyrus umbel.
Condition: Single rivet through tang. Surface of mirror much scratched and rubbed. Handle rubbed and some of the details obscured. Tang chipped.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Mirror, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Bronze, 10 15/16 x 5 7/16 x 7/8 in. (27.8 x 13.8 x 2.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.638E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.638E_front_PS4.jpg)
IMAGE
front, 37.638E_front_PS4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2014
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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