Bronze mirror

Bronze mirror

Bronze mirrors preceded the glass mirrors of today. This type of mirror has been found by archaeologists among elite assemblages from various cultures, from Etruscan Italy to China.

History

Egypt

Polished bronze or copper mirrors were made by the Egyptians from 2900 BCE onwards. [Z. Y. Saad: "The Excavations at Helwan. Art and Civilization in the First and Second Egyptian Dynasties", University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma 1969, p.54]

Indus valley civilization

In the Indus valley civilization, manufacture of bronze mirrors goes back to the time between 2800 and 2500 BCE. [Richard Corson: "Fashions in Makeup: From Ancient to Modern Times", 1972, ISBN 0720604311, p.32]

China

Bronze mirrors were produced in China from neolithic times until the Qing Dynasty, when western glass mirrors were brought to China. Bronze mirrors were usually circular, with one side polished bright, to give a reflection, and the reverse side with designs. They often had a knob in the center so that they could be attached to clothing. Some of the earliest examples of Chinese bronze mirrors belonged to the Neolithic Qijia culture from around 2000 BCE. However, until Warring States times, bronze mirrors were not common with approximately only twenty having been discovered. During the Warring States period, mirrors became particularly popular. It was during the Han Dynasty, and the introduction of the TLV mirror, that mirrors started to be mass-produced. Both Han and Tang mirrors are considered to be the most technically advanced. Bronze mirrors continued to remain popular up through the Song Dynasty, but then gradually lost their popularity and ceased to be produced after the arrival of Western mirrors during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Europe

In Europe, bronze mirrors from the Bronze Age have been discovered from various places, including Britain and Italy. A notable example includes the Birdlip mirror. Etruscan mirrors were produced from between the sixth and second centuries BCE. Celtic mirrors in Britain were produced up until the Roman conquest.

ee also

* Shinju-kyo

References

Further reading

* B. Schweig: “Mirrors”, "Antiquity", Vol. 15 (1941), pp.257-268


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mirror — looking glass redirects here. For other uses, see Looking Glass (disambiguation). This article is about wave reflectors (mainly, specular reflection of visible light). For other uses, see Mirror (disambiguation). A mirror, reflecting a vase A… …   Wikipedia

  • mirror — mirrorlike, adj. /mir euhr/, n. 1. a reflecting surface, originally of polished metal but now usually of glass with a silvery, metallic, or amalgam backing. 2. such a surface set into a frame, attached to a handle, etc., for use in viewing… …   Universalium

  • Mirror Monster — The Mirror Monsters (ミラーモンスター, Mirā Monsutā?) are the fictional central antagonists of the 2002 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Ryuki. These are man eating monsters that exist with the Mirror World. Much of the series focuses on the Mirror… …   Wikipedia

  • mirror — Glass [[➝ glass]]; but bronze mirrors were used in the OT period in Palestine …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Chinese magic mirror — A Chinese magic mirror is an ancient art that can be traced back to the Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 24 CE).[1] The mirrors were made out of solid bronze. The front is a shiny polished surface and could be used as a mirror, while the back has a …   Wikipedia

  • TLV mirror — A TLV mirror is a type of bronze mirror that was popular during the Han Dynasty in China. They are called TLV mirrors because symbols resembling the letters T, L, and V are engraved into them. They were produced from around the 2nd century BCE… …   Wikipedia

  • Magic mirror — may refer to: Magic Mirror (M.C. Escher), a print by Escher Magic Mirror (book), by Orson Scott Card Chinese magic mirror, an ancient bronze mirror which projects an image with reflected light a magical mirror, such as the animate object in the… …   Wikipedia

  • arts, East Asian — Introduction       music and visual and performing arts of China, Korea, and Japan. The literatures of these countries are covered in the articles Chinese literature, Korean literature, and Japanese literature.       Some studies of East Asia… …   Universalium

  • List of Chinese inventions — A bronze Chinese crossbow mechanism with a buttplate (the wooden components have …   Wikipedia

  • National Treasures of South Korea — The Buddha statue at Seokguram Grotto, the 24th Korean national treasure. Korean name Hangul …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”