Bronze mirror with traces of gilding

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The mirror is decorated with a scene from Greek mythology—Europa and the Bull (who represents Zeus/Jupiter in disguise). Such classicizing subjects were popular on Roman mirrors made principally during the Antonine period, and examples have been found in many distant parts of the Empire. With its mythological scene and gilded surface, this work is therefore a good example of the material wealth and comfort enjoyed by many ordinary people under the pax romana, the peace, stability, and prosperity provided by Rome.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.

Metropolitan Museum of Art