Mirror from the Chettle Park hoard

Iron Age

British Museum

1st Century

This mirror is decorated with an exquisite geometric La Tène design. The decoration is the most beautifully executed example known to date (60 mirrors of this period are known from Britain). The Chettle mirror complements other mirrors in the British Museum's collections, particularly Desborough and Holcombe but is of greater artistic note. The museum is embarking on the first systematic full-scale study of Iron Age mirrors in Britain for over a century. The mirror forms part of a larger rare burial hoard and the museum hopes to display the hoard together with a focus on the mirror and its uniqueness and skill of decoration.

• Medium: copper alloy
• Dimensions: 23.5 x 21cm
• Grant Paid: £18000 ( Total: £18000)
• ArtFunded in: 2009
• Vendor: Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Provenance

Found by a metal detectorist in Chettle Park, Dorset as part of an assemblage of bronze and glass objects by metal detectorists in August 2003.

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