mirror

The mirror is unusual, and it may have been repaired with more recent bone elements along the base. The candelabrum resembles the menorah on a lintel in the Byzantine synagogue at Nawa in the Hauran, where the central light of the menorah is in the form of a large disk raised above the level of the other lights. Similarly, on contemporaneous earthenware lamps, the position of the central disk corresponds to that of the nozzle, so that the light of the lamp appears to come from it. The human figure would be unusual on a Jewish ritual object, but perhaps the mirror may have been a household item. The pigment is discolored and has migrated over the back surface, concealing details of the carving.