​

        Mirrors, regardless of their specific function, were associated with women and femininity during the Greek, Roman and early Medieval periods. They were typically devotional objects to honor divinities such as Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and the literary and archaeological evidence shows that mirrors were conventionally restricted in their use to women for erotic purposes, to worshippers offering votive objects, and to the bereaved as female grave furniture (Németh 2010, p. 102) (Sobin 1999, p. 174) (Bartsch 2006, p. 29) (McCarty 1989, p. 161).

​

        Some of the most important research for our mirror has been done by György Németh who investigated seventeen votive mirrors featured in the Hungarian National Museum that were, similarly to our object, found in Eastern Europe.  Németh et al ascertained that these votive mirrors were found in female graves and were thought to function as “escorts to the souls of the dead and as apotropaic amulets” (Németh 2010, p. 101). These small lead-frame mirrors tend to be common for archaeologists of Roman Pannonia have barely been researched by scholars. These mirrors have been excavated from the burials of young women and have been found alongside furniture belonging to female cosmetics in these funerary sites, such as bone hair-pins, silver rings, and necklaces. Although it is quite tempting for scholars to easily interpret these mirrors as utensils for grooming, this understanding would be wrong because the glass surface of these mirrors often tends not to be larger than two centimeters in diameter, ultimately these mirrors were intended to draw upon details of the face (Sobin 1999, p. 174). Therefore, these objects cannot be used as mirrors since they are too small and because lead is too soft and vulnerable a substance for daily use (Németh 2010, p. 102).

​

        In regards to the size of these lead mirrors, scholar and poet Gustaf Sobin noted “the mirror itself was scarcely wider than an eye. Thirty millimeters in diameter, its reflection would have probably included, at its very edges, the line of a cheekbone just beneath, and the floating arch of an eyebrow just over. Within the mirror, we can only imagine, the eye must have come to gaze at its own wobbling likeness. There, undoubtedly, it would have paused, lingered” (Sobin 1999, p. 174). Thus Sobin infers that the small reflective mirror itself suggests that as a votive object, whether it was used to invoke a favor of a god, or used to thank a god, the votive offering served as an exchange between a mortal and an immortal (Sobin 1999, p. 174-176).

​

        These lead mirrors are found both in shrines dedicated to Selene, Aphrodite, Venus, Isis, Hera, or to the Nymphs as votive gifts in the cults of women or in cemetaries (Németh 2010, p. 102) (Sobin 1999, p. 174) (McCarty 1989, p. 161). There are multiple epigraphs and poems in Greek and Latin that poke fun at female addiction to the mirror. Some sources suggest that a woman is too ugly to enjoy the sight while others remark on mirrors being dedicated by women as votive offerings are a great sacrifice to the woman (Bartsch 2006, p. 29). There is a strong connotation between the feminine world and mirror iconography. Often times, mirrors were associated with Aphrodite, Helen of Troy, and Eros, as is seen in the iconography of The Projecta Casket [Figure 1&2]  from the mid-fourth century. This casket’s iconography combined the imagery of pagan deities in the context of a Christian wedding, where the toilette of the bride was mirrored by a marine Venus portrayed on the lid (Elsner 2003, p. 24-26). This evocation of the pagan goddess, as argued by Henry Mcguire, should be read as embodying ideas of plenty and good fortune during the time of Roman Christianity (Hoffman 2009, p. 241&246). The medium of silver vessels themselves, as used by the upper class in bathing rituals, also mimicked the idea of a mirror where silver could be polished enough to show one's reflection, and in the case of the Projecta Casket, was mimicking the iconography of Venus viewing herself in the mirror (Elsner 2003, p. 29).

         

        When used by men, however, the mirror results in an increase in vanity or an exhibition of the erotic. Texts from fifth-century Athens add to the idea that only the “effeminate” man, or the homosexual, eunuch, and hermaphrodite, would utilize a mirror (Bartsch 2006, p. 30). In the “Digest of Justinian” from 533 A.D. prepared by Tribonian on the instructions of Justinian, it states “Women’s toilet equipment is employed to make a woman more attractive; under this head are included mirrors, jars, perfumes, perfume bottles, and anything that may be of like nature such as equipment for the bath [or] a chest” Dig. 34.2.25.10 (Watson 2011, p. 153). This Digest from 533 A.D. also adds to our mirror’s dating because it falls within the timeframe set out by the suggested date from the Cambridge coin shop as well as the dating from our comparanda 1.A., 2.A., 4.A., 6.A. and 7.A . Therefore, mirrors were a large part of life in this Roman Christian era inside and out of Roma and were clearly associated with women and femininity during the time.

​

        In the graves of women where these mirrors have been found, scholars have interpreted the mirrors as grave furniture for the deceased and not as objects for personal primping use. These mirrors were made from lead because it was inexpensive and easy to shape the mirror frames into the matrix, but also because the color and weight of lead traditionally associated it with magic and the underworld (Németh 2010, p. 102). Thus, scholars are certain that lead mirrors, being utilized in funerary cults, allowed them to reside in a grey zone between religion and magic, ultimately forming an object group of religious-historical significance (Németh 2010, p. 102).

​

        Unfortunately, our mirror does not contain an inscription, which would help to add to it’s context and function. In Németh’s exploration of lead mirror inscriptions, all of the messages show female characteristics, aimed at fertility, beauty and the female soul. One mirror contains the inscription “Successfully” which also translates to Eutycho, a female name, see Comparanda 7.A. It is probable to assume that the inscription refers to a form of the adverb  eutychôs (successfully), which corresponds to the meaning of the Latin felix, and the lack of sigma may be interpreted by the effect of Christianity (Németh 2010, p. 104-105). Another inscription contains the words “SERVASEROTIVOC, Servas Eroti voc(as)” translating to “You call the maid servants of Eros”, see Comparanda 6.A. This Latin inscription fits with the sexuality and fertility aspect of female cults because the definition of “maid servants of Eros” is characteristic of prostitutes (Németh 2010, p. 106).

​

         Since lead mirrors have been discovered at the tombs of women, at least in Eastern Europe, specifically Pannonia, it is probable that these lead mirrors were likely utilized to serve as a ritual or magical tool to facilitate souls of deceased women in the afterlife. While our mirror may have traces of glass, we have no way to analyze the shard fragments. Other mirrors that have had their glass analyzed 8.E.H. have found that they were shaped in a triangular way, resembling the prophylactic eye, so the mirrors as items of grave furniture, may have had apotropaic functions as well (Németh 2010, p. 113-114).

​

 

​