Cleveland Museum of Art

Bell-shaped Mirror

Date

918–1392

Medium

bronze

Culture

Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)

Department

Korean Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

From ancient times, a mirror assumed various roles: a ritualistic tool, a diplomatic gift, and a luxury commodity. During the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), which saw the great advancement of metallurgy, the royal court was the center of distributing sophisticated bronze artifacts. According to historical records, on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the king bestowed a bronze mirror inscribed with auspicious symbols upon each court official as part of a ceremony to celebrate the Day of Humans. This bronze mirror features a round concave surface that serves as the main decoration. Such concave surface can be traced back to the ancient time when a concave mirror was used to start a fire from sunlight during the daytime. Due to its origin as an important tool in religion and politics, mirrors are often mentioned in many Korean proverbs that warn about certain behaviors.

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