Mirror with Engraved Scene: Two Female Figures

Cast in one piece, this bronze mirror features a handle terminating in a stylized deer head. The front side of the disc, once highly polished and reflective, would have served as a mirror, while the reverse—now on display—features an engraved figural scene. Best observed with the aid of a line drawing, this shows two standing women, both draped and looking at one another. Without inscriptions, their identities remain uncertain, but the crescent overhead and the upright spear held by the righthand figure suggest that they may be the goddesses Artumes (Artemis) and Menerfa (Athena).