Mirror with a Handle in the Form of a Herakles Knot
Unknown Artist
c. 280–400 CE
Medium
silver
Dimensions
2.3 × 34.6 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1956.31
About this artwork
This type of mirror was introduced throughout the Roman Empire by the 2nd century and remained popular into the 3rd and 4th centuries. Similar examples have been found in Germany and Britain. The handle is made of two thick pieces of silver wire, intertwined to form a Herakles knot--a knot so complex that only someone as strong as Herakles could break it. In antiquity, knots of various kinds were believed to provide protection from harm.