scene depicting flogging in a schoolroom; Roman, first century CE, probably from Asia Minor This gilt bronze mirror cover draws on Dionysiac symbolism to give allegorical dimensions to this familiar childhood scene. A Maenad and Cupid hold a schoolboy over a table, below which lie an open wax tablet and stylus. A Silenus flogs the boy while another Cupid keeps score on a slate. In a niche on the wall stands a small statue of Minerva, patroness of learning.
