Mirror with Handle in Form of Girl
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Object Label
Mirrors
Although commonplace objects to us, mirrors held great meaning to the ancient Egyptians.
The Egyptians first used mirrors in the Old Kingdom (Third through Sixth Dynasties; circa 2675–2170 B.C.E.) if not earlier. The design—elliptical disks supported by handles shaped like papyrus plants—symbolized the moment when the creator-god emerged from the primordial swamp in the form of the sun. The Egyptians believed that all life began in this so-called First Moment. When they picked up their mirrors each morning they were thus reminded of creation.
The shape of mirrors changed over time. In the Eighteenth Dynasty, the traditional oval disk was replaced by a circular form. Handles appeared in a wide variety of shapes, including images of animals, adolescent girls, and papyrus flowers.
Caption
Egyptian. Mirror with Handle in Form of Girl, ca. 1400–1292 B.C.E.. Bronze, 8 3/4 x 4 13/16 in. (22.2 x 12.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 60.27.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 60.27.1_front_PS2.jpg)
Culture
Title
Mirror with Handle in Form of Girl
Date
ca. 1400–1292 B.C.E.
Dynasty
second half of Dynasty 18
Period
New Kingdom
Geography
Place made: Egypt
Medium
Bronze
Classification
Dimensions
8 3/4 x 4 13/16 in. (22.2 x 12.2 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
60.27.1
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Tell me more.
Mirrors held great meaning to the ancient Egyptians. The oval shape mimics that of the sun when it first emerges over the horizon, a daily event that reminded the ancient Egyptians of rebirth and renewal.The surface of the oval would have been buffed and buffed until it became reflective.Why doesn't this mirror have glass?
The mirror was actually just a highly polished piece of bronze that you would have been able to see your reflection in!Mirrors today are actually also made of a thin layer of reflective metal. They are just topped by a layer of glass to protect the metal!
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