GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Mirrors in antiquity were made of polished bronze. The scene engraved on the back shows a nude winged female figure standing by a plant and box and accompanied by a flute player. She is a Lasa, or erotic deity, who often appears as an attendant of the Goddess of love, whom the Etruscans called Turan. Such sensuous scenes were considered suitable for women's toilet ornaments.
Excerpt from
Anne Bromberg, Label copy [1966.7], transcribed November 2016.
NOTES
Notes from visit of 24 April 1987 with Arielle Kozloff and Carlos Picon
"Arielle said there was an awful lot of faking in this sort of object, although there were many good things about this piece, such as the large amount of cuprite (varying shades of purple-red indicating that the piece is quite old) and the pitting on the surface which does seem to disturb the engraving (helping to affirm that the drawing was probably original to the piece. She is still somewhat uncertain that the decoration could be a later addition and suggested that we contact Richard de Puma at the University of Iowa about this, as he has written a book on the subject. The decoration and pitting should be studies with the aid of a microscope.) The slightly convex shape of the mirror would enlarge the image being reflected. However, the mirror has been overcleaned, which resulted in a lot of the detail being eaten away. Also, this is not a particularly fine piece, and there are certainly much better examples. Arielle said she probably would not exhibit it at Cleveland and that this was an area which could definitely be upgraded."
Catalogue essays
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Cultures
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Process/materials
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RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1966: Elie Borowski, Basel, Switzerland [1]
From 1966: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association through the Edwin J. Kiest Memorial Fund; purchase from above [2]
[1] See invoice in Collections Records Object File (1966.7)
[2] The Dallas Arts Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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WEB RESOURCES
- DMA's Uncrated~Read about mirrors at the DMA.
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Apply to objects where number equals 1966.7
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General Description
Mirrors in antiquity were made of polished bronze. The scene engraved on the back shows a nude winged female figure standing by a plant and box and accompanied by a flute player. She is a Lasa, or erotic deity, who often appears as an attendant of the Goddess of love, whom the Etruscans called Turan. Such sensuous scenes were considered suitable for women's toilet ornaments.
Excerpt from
Anne Bromberg, Label copy [1966.7], transcribed November 2016.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Notes from visit of 24 April 1987 with Arielle Kozloff and Carlos Picon
"Arielle said there was an awful lot of faking in this sort of object, although there were many good things about this piece, such as the large amount of cuprite (varying shades of purple-red indicating that the piece is quite old) and the pitting on the surface which does seem to disturb the engraving (helping to affirm that the drawing was probably original to the piece. She is still somewhat uncertain that the decoration could be a later addition and suggested that we contact Richard de Puma at the University of Iowa about this, as he has written a book on the subject. The decoration and pitting should be studies with the aid of a microscope.) The slightly convex shape of the mirror would enlarge the image being reflected. However, the mirror has been overcleaned, which resulted in a lot of the detail being eaten away. Also, this is not a particularly fine piece, and there are certainly much better examples. Arielle said she probably would not exhibit it at Cleveland and that this was an area which could definitely be upgraded."
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1966: Elie Borowski, Basel, Switzerland [1]
From 1966: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association through the Edwin J. Kiest Memorial Fund; purchase from above [2]
[1] See invoice in Collections Records Object File (1966.7)
[2] The Dallas Arts Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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