File:14th-century mirror case, exterior (FindID 99807).jpg

English: A cast copper-alloy medieval mirror case consisting of two slightly convex discs. Each disc has a single lug on one side and a pair on the opposite side. No glass remains on the recessed inside surfaces of the discs, although the internal residue could be of calcium carbonate, a cement used to hold the glass in place. External decoration consists of the outline of a crude, rounded, open cross, in double lines of opposed triangles on one disc and single lines on the other disc. Further, on both discs there is a pair of straight(ish) lines running diametrically between the lugs from side to side. Such decoration was probably made using a roulette (Geake 2001, 72). Examples of mirror cases decorated in such a way are illustrated in Egan and Pritchard (1991, 361-362; refs. 1714-1716). These date from the period c. 1270 - c. 1350. Other publications (e.g. Mills 1999, 103) give a 14th-century date for mirror cases decorated in this way. That this was a standard decoration for contemporary mirror cases is noted in the literature and is also evidenced by parallels which can be found on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. It is unclear whether these two discs both formed part of the same mirror case. As stated, the decoration varies on each disc regarding the number of lines used to form the triangles. The patina on each disc differs as does the level of wear, particular in terms of the bent profile of one of the discs. Finally, it seems that neither double lug is pierced on the discs while both single lugs appear to have been pierced and subsequently abraded such that they are no longer complete. Inevitably, therefore, the rivet from the side which would have hinged has been lost.