The highly decorated reverse side of a Celtic bronze mirror (obverse is the reflecting surface with green patination) from Desborough , Northamptonshire , England , showing the development of the spiral and trumpet decorative theme of the Early Celtic La Tène style in Britain. The complex symmetrical clover-leaf pattern, outlined in the form of a lyre with flanking coils, was possibly laid out using a pair of compasses or string. Parts of the decoration are engraved, using a graver , with a basket-weave pattern and hatched texturing to make the pattern stand out. The mirror is made from three pieces - a cast handle, the main mirror plate and a tubular binding strip around the edge.with a basket-weave pattern and hatched texturing.

Curator's comments: The plate was highly polished on one side to produce a reflective surface. A mirror would have been a powerful object in a world where reflections could only be glimpsed in water. A person using a mirror would control how they looked using the mirror in combination with tweezers or shears. Decorated mirrors of this type are uniquely British, very few are found on the continent. The majority are from graves dating between 100BC and AD 100 (Joy, J, Iron Age Mirrors: A biographical approach, Oxford, British Archeological Reports, 2010).

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