Mirror

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This mirror almost certainly comes from a high status grave. During the Han period (206BC-AD 220) and later, burial of mirrors on the dead person's chest, as 'heart protectors', was popular. Mirrors were believed to have magical and protective properties

This mirror is made of cast bronze, its reflecting side originally silvered. It has an ornate central perforated knob, for suspension by a cord, and is decorated with bosses and scrolls, the latter resembling lotus leaves.

In China, during the first millennia BC and AD, mirrors were believed to protect living and dead people against evil spirits by revealing their true forms, and warding them off. They could also predict the future and show how people would be reborn.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-104-659-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  A.1927.659
• Date: 618 - 906 AD
  Between 618 and 906 AD
  
• Material: Patinated bronze, silvered
  
• Dimensions: 4.50" L
  
• What:
• Subject: Bronzes
  
• Who:
• Where: China
  
• Event:
• Description: Mirror of silvered patinated bronze, with a central perforated boss in the form of a many-peaked mountain on the reverse: China, attributed to T'ang dynasty, 618 - 906 A
  
• References:
  • Swallow, R.W. Ancient Chinese Bronze Mirrors. 1937. Peiping. 
  • Watson, W. Ancient Chinese Bronzes. London. 
• Translations:
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