Didcot (formerly Oxfordshire) Mirror photo stated as "free use" since 2009 (image rotated) |
Decorated mirrors fall into two broad chronological divisions: the earliest (such as this one) have a round plate with no binding on the edge of the plate. The later mirrors have a kidney-shaped plate with a binding strip around the edge of the plate.
They also have two dominant plate decoration types: first is the "diffused" type, the other is "tri-lobed", often resembling an abstracted woman's head.
In order to better define these mirrors, two parts of the mirror must be taken into consideration: the design of the handle, and the applied decoration to the plate.
Shillington, Bedfordshire, Mirror photo stated as "free use" since 2009 |
The main difference between the two mirrors is that the on the Shillington mirror, within the delineated decoration, are circled tricorns, whereas this element is replaced, on the Didcot mirror with roughly circular shapes in association with pairs of opposed diagonally set leaves.
The earlier plain mirrors from the Arras and Garton Slack burials in Yorkshire have, respectively, a straight handle with a ring at the bottom, and a double-baluster handle with median band and a ring at the top and bottom. In the Didcot and Shillington mirrors, and in the plain mirrors from Portland, Dorset (Jope, 2000, plate 256,c) and Bulbury, Dorset (ibid, plate 256,d) the top of the handle is bifurcated showing, I think, influence from earlier anthropoid-hilted swords with the top ring indicating the head and the bifurcated top section of the handle, the arms. On the Bulbury handle, the bifurcation does not end in "arms", but appears to continue to form the plate edge, perhaps a later development.
The other direction that the handle design takes is a series of rings, or a pair of opposed loops joined by a band, the latter seen, most famously, on the Birdlip and Desborough mirrors.
The use of opposed leaves in the mirror plate design is quite rare but can be seen (in association with a couple of circular forms) on the Bromham, Bedfordshire, Mirror (No. 6, and illustration below). It has the earlier round plate and no binding.
Bromham Mirror designated as "free use" since 2009 |
Most interesting of all of these examples is the smaller mirror from Dordrecht, Netherlands (No. 13) and illustrated below. It shows influences from both broad types of handles, and has a roundish plate leaning toward the kidney shape with (apparently) traces of binding. Here, the diagonally opposed leaves have a circle between, a design different, but reminiscent of one of my strap junctions that I date to about 20-40 AD. The plate design is a rather "diffuse" version of the "tri-lobed" type
Smaller Dordrecht Mirror photo stated as "free use" since 2009 |
Taking all of this into consideration, I place the date of the Didcot mirror more in keeping with the Shillington Mirror, but at the end of the cited period of 70 - 20 BC. or possibly even slightly later. Such an estimation must remain provisional for the time being because of the different workshop/varying skills factor.
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