Minneapolis Institute of Art

Square Mirror

Japan

Date

5th-6th century

Medium

Bronze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Japanese first began to caste bronze mirrors, fashioned after Chinese and Korean prototypes, during the mid-Yayoi period (400 b.c. - 250 a.d.). During the succeeding Kofun period, mirrors were produced in significant quantities and were customarily placed within the burial chambers of high-ranking individuals. While the fronts were polished to achieve a reflective surface, the backs were embellished with relief decoration organized around a central domed eyelet to accommodate a cord. It is likely that such mirrors were valued as symbolic solar disks, rather than as functional objects. This theory is given credence by the fact that the sacred imperial regalia of Japan came to consist of a mirror, a sword, and a jewel. Asia

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