Lo specchio di Castelvetro. Una rilettura del tema nuziale a partire dagli oggetti

This contribution proposes a new interpretation of the scenes engraved on the Castelvetro mirror, concentrating on clothing, furniture and ornamental objects. The study of the figuration starts from the syntax, articulated in four scenes. The semantic focus, indicated by the bird in the central circle, is the wedding scene, which conveys a dynastic message following the marriage rules of the Veneto-Alpine area. The adjacent scene depicts a matron conversing with a figure on a throne, possibly the bride’s father. Another scene shows the groom arriving at the home of the bride-to-be, greeted by a young woman. The groom’s entourage is represented in the lower part of the mirror. The iconographic and stylistic elements are finally considered together with the support, the context in which the mirror was found and the context in which it was produced, allowing the hypothesis that the Castelvetro mirror is a commissioned artwork, donated by an individual of Veneto-Alpine origin to an Etruscan bride.