An Etruscan Bronze Caryatid Mirror, circa 3rd Century B.C.

the disk originally cast in one piece with a handle broken away in antiquity, the present handle made for it in antiquity and annealed to the disk, the handle cast in the form of the winged goddess Lasa holding an alabastron against her hip and lifting the fingers of her right hand to her nose, the back of the mirror engraved with Eros holding a hammer and standing amid carpentry tools.   

Frederick Boöcke, London, 1850s
W. H. Forman, Pippbrook House, Surrey
by descent to his nephew Major A.H. Browne, Callaly Castle, Northumberland, circa 1889 (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, The Forman Collection, June 19th-22th, 1899, no. 136, pl. IV)
Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael, Bt., Castle Craig, Scotland (Sotheby and Co., London, Catalogue of the Collections formed by the late Lord Carmichael of Skirling, June 8th, 1926, no. 331, illus.)
William Randolph Hearst, San Simeon, California, inv. no. "S.S. No. [P9]1931" (from a damaged label underneath the base)
acquired by the current owner from the Hearst estate circa 1959

Berlin, 1859, by Frederick Boöcke
"Exhibition of Ancient Greek Art," Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1904, Case A
"Man: Glory, Jest, and Riddle: A Survey of the Human Form through the Ages," M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, and San Francisco Museum of Art, November 10th, 1964, to January 3rd, 1965
"Dance in Sculpture," Vincent Astor Gallery, Library & Museum of the Performing Arts, The New York Public Library at Lincoln Center, February 1st - April 30th, 1971
Duke University Art Museum, Durham, North Carolina, circa 1988-1991

Eduard Gerhard, Etruskische Spiegel, Berlin, vol. IV, 1867, p. 68, pl. CCCXXX
Ernest Babelon and J.-Adrien Blanchet, Catalogue des bronzes antiques de la Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1895, p. 134
Burlington Fine Arts Club, Exhibition of Ancient Greek Art, London, 1904, p. 42, no. A 22, pl. XLIX
Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, vol. II, 2nd, ed., Paris, 1908, p. 394, no. 6
Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, vol. IV, 2nd ed., Paris, 1913, p. 197, no. 7 (illustrated as no. 4)
Franz de Ruyt, Charun, démon étrusque de la mort, Rome and Brussels, 1934, p. 130
Man: Glory, Jest, and Riddle: A Survey of the Human Form through the Ages, exh. cat., San Francisco California, 1964, p. 50, no. 39
Raymond Klibansky, Erwin Panofsky, Fritz Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy: Studies in the History of Natural Philosophy, Religion, and Art, London, 1964, p. 308, fig. 25A
Bulletin of The New York Public Library, vol. 75, January-December, 1971, p. 84 (exhibition checklist)
Anonia Rallo, Lasa; Iconografia e esegesi, Florence, 1974, p. 57, pl. XXXVI,1
Lenore O. Keene Congdon, Caryatid Mirrors of Ancient Greece, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, p. 238
The Gods Delight: The Human Figure in Classical Bronze, Cleveland, Ohio, 1988, p. 263, note

Feet repaired above ankles, proper let hand missing thumb and half of little finger, entire edge of proper left wing abraded and chipped, disk has three hairline cracks visible in photograph, palmette in exergue very worn, uniform wear on both handle and disk; for the ancient joining of disk and handle see catalogue description.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

For related patera handles cf. G.M.A. Richter, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Bronzes, New York, 1915, no. 598 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 03.24.4), and The Cleveland Museum of Art, Fleischman Collection (The Gods Delight: The Human Figurine in Classical Bronzes, exh. cat., Cleveland, 1988, no. 48).