Mirror
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Object Label
The hairstyle of the nude female figure on the handle of this mirror—thick braids surrounding the face—was popular in the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty, allowing art historians to date the work.
Caption
Mirror, ca. 1478–1390 B.C.E.. Silver and copper alloy, 9 3/4 x diam. 5 1/2 in. (24.7 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.635E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.635E_SL1.jpg)
Title
Mirror
Date
ca. 1478–1390 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 18
Period
New Kingdom
Geography
Reportedly from: Aswan, Egypt
Medium
Silver and copper alloy
Classification
Dimensions
9 3/4 x diam. 5 1/2 in. (24.7 x 14 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
37.635E
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
Did mirrors in Ancient Egypt have a more reflective surface than this? Was there a layer that went on top?
That's a great question. There would not have been another layer actually, it would just have been hammered and then buffed and buffed until the surface became reflective.Do you know how shiny these mirrors were? Would one be able to see their reflection in it if it was polished?
They would! We can tell from the quality of polished stone that the ancient Egyptians were adept at using abrasives to create exceptionally smooth surfaces.Metal just doesn't retain a polished surface the same way that diorite does.We also know that cosmetic application and hair dressing were important parts of Egyptian society that would have required being able to see one's self.
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