Bronze mirror

A bronze mirror is a mirror that is made out of polished bronze. Most mirrors used to be made out of Bronze before the invention of glass mirrors.^[1] In many asian societies people saw these mirrors as religiously significant.^[2]

This includes Shinto^[3] where one of the most important relics is a bronze mirror: Yata no Kagami.^[4] Shinto followers believe that by worshiping a mirror, they recognize and honor the divine within themselves.^[5] ^[6]

Gallery

Asian bronze mirrors

Early mirror, Qijia culture, before c. 1800 BCE
Han dynasty, 202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD
The "animals and grapes design", c. 690, Tang dynasty
The "double fish design", popular in the Jin dynasty (1115-1234)
Song dynasty bronze mirror
Very small hand mirror

European bronze mirrors

Greek caryatid mirror, mid 5th century BCE
Greek folding mirror (found in Italy), 3rd century BCE, with Eros playing for Aphrodite
Front of silver Roman mirror from Pompeii
Silver, Roman, 150-200 CE, with unusually high relief
Cupid with mirror on a mirror-back, Spain
Fresco from Pompeii
Cupid holding up a rectangular mirror, Villa of the Mysteries

References

↑ Osborne, 174; Dillon, 32
↑ Osborne, Harold (1975). The Oxford companion to the decorative arts. Oxford: Clarendon press. ISBN 978-0-19-866113-9.
↑ "Shinto Shrine Yushoku Kokusitsu", p. 129, 7, July 1, 1951. Published by the Jinja Main Office on July 1, 1951
↑ Denney, John W. (2011). Respect and Consideration. Lulu.com. pp. 321, 318–326. ISBN 978-0-9568798-0-6.
↑ "The Magic Mirror Maker". Kyoto Journal. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
↑ "The circular mirror: Shinto symbol". Green Shinto. 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2022-05-15.

Sources

Dillon, Michael O. (ed.), China: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary, 1998, Curzon Press, ISBN 9780700704392 google books
Osborne, Harold (ed), The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts, 1975, OUP, ISBN 0198661134

[1] Osborne, 174; Dillon, 32

[2] Osborne, Harold (1975). The Oxford companion to the decorative arts. Oxford: Clarendon press. ISBN 978-0-19-866113-9.

[shinto-shrine-yushoku-kokusitsu-1951a-3] "Shinto Shrine Yushoku Kokusitsu", p. 129, 7, July 1, 1951. Published by the Jinja Main Office on July 1, 1951

[4] Denney, John W. (2011). Respect and Consideration. Lulu.com. pp. 321, 318–326. ISBN 978-0-9568798-0-6.

[5] "The Magic Mirror Maker". Kyoto Journal. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2022-05-15.

[green-shinto-2012a-6] "The circular mirror: Shinto symbol". Green Shinto. 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2022-05-15.

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