Watch List notes:

The Roman Empire
Nero augustus, 54 – 68

Mirror casing in two parts, styled after a Lugdunum sestertius issue of circa 67, Æ 68.43 g.. IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P MAX TR POT P P Laureate head r., globe at point of bust. Rev. D[ECVRSI]O / S – C Nero on horseback riding r. holding spear; behind him, soldier on horseback r., holding vexillum. On such mirrors, see Paul–André Besombes, "Les miroirs de Néron," RN 153 (1998), pp. 119-40, and especially his Type I, no. 6. For prototype: RIC 581.
Rare. Light chipping and a few holes on the exterior, otherwise very fine


Ex Triton sale XVII, 2014, 655.

Neronian mirrors are discussed at length by P.-A. Besombes, "Les miroirs de Néron," RN 153 (1998), pp. 119-40. Besombes argues that Neronian mirrors, which were either made with sestertii or styled after sestertii, were part of the emperor's overall religious policy associating himself and the emperorship with the divinity of the sun god, Sol (Helios): the image of Nero is at the centre of the mirror, the concentric circles surrounding him representing the celestial sphere as the ancients conceived the heavens, just as Sol is at the centre of the universe. According to Besombes, the mirrors would have been presented as gifts to influential citizens and dignitaries during public spectacles. Despite the speculative nature of Besombes' argument, Nero did in fact see himself as the god personified, as illustrated by his likeness on the great 100-foot-tall bronze Colossus that he built in order to ornament the vestibule of his great imperial villa complex on the Palatine Hill, the Domus Aurea.