- Richard Daniel De Puma –
of the fi rst group is the elaborate decorative border or frame that surrounds the fi gural
scene on the non-refl ecting side of the mirror. This border is a spiky-leafed garland (hence
the German designation for this type, Kranzspiegelgruppe) often bound at the cardinal
points with “slide binders” (Fig. 58.8). Mirrors in this proposed group often depict four-
fi gure compositions and sometimes the fi gures are identifi ed by inscribed labels. Mirrors
in the spiky-garland group have other features in common: a massive, modeled handle
terminating in a stylized ram’s head; a concave extension, often with an engraved “fl ame
motif” on the obverse; a raised medallion border (engraved with the spiky-garland or
other frame device); and a heavy rim profi le with deep groove on the obverse. But can
these similar mirrors be assigned to a specifi c workshop? A systematic investigation by
Denise Emmanuel-Rebuffat^40 demonstrated that there is no direct correlation between
the spiky-garland border and the various four-fi gure compositions they frame. In fact,
a number of mirrors of this general type have laurel-leaf or guilloche borders and it is
estimated that about 40 percent of them have no engraved border ornament at all. These
differences suggest a fl exible relationship between border design and fi gural composition
and, I think, strengthen the idea that borders may have been executed by different artisans
and bear no meaningful relationship to the fi gural scenes that they frame.^41
The two most common subjects decorating fourth and third centuries bc Etruscan
mirrors are the twin gods, Castor and Pollux, often called the Dioskouroi (or Tinias Cliniar
in Etruscan)^42 and Lasa (Figs 58.9 and 58.10). Many of these mirrors are of relatively poor
quality, both technically and aesthetically. They are thin, fragile and generally smaller
than most earlier mirrors and the engravings are often crude, incompetent or, at best,
perfunctory. Many have no frame or border for the fi gural scene on the reverse and no
extension ornament on the refl ecting side. These qualities have led some to speculate that
Figure 58.8 Spiky-garland mirror, provenance unknown, circa 300–250 bc. (Indiana University Art
Museum, Bloomington, inv. 62.251). From De Puma 1987, no. 3. Drawing by the author.