<em>Mirror</em>, 918–1392. Bronze, 1/2 x 6 1/16 in. (1.3 x 15.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 34.5852. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.5852_PS11.jpg)

Mirror, 918–1392. Bronze, 1/2 x 6 1/16 in. (1.3 x 15.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 34.5852. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.5852_PS11.jpg)

Mirror, 918–1392. Bronze, 1/2 x 6 1/16 in. (1.3 x 15.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 34.5852. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.5852.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What type of person would have had this mirror? Would it have been a wealthy person or an average person?

Highly decorated mirrors like this would have been owned by wealthy people in Korean history. They were a common luxury item.

Would they only have one or would they have multiple?

In terms of how many mirrors one person would own, it would have depended on how wealthy they were and thus how many they could afford.

What can you tell me about Ning Qi?

The Story of Ning Qi comes from China and takes place during the "Spring and Autumn Period," from the 700s to the 400s BCE. The story tells of Ning Qi moving from the kingdom of Wei to the kingdom of Qi because he wanted to work for a man named Lord Huan.

Ning Qi waited outside the Lord's castle until he came out. Ning Qi then sang a song using the horn of a living ox as an instrument. Lord Huan was so impressed that he hired Ning Qi as an advisor.

What kind of tree is on the mirror?

I don't have any notes on what tree this is meant to represent, but it does look to me like a cassia tree, a type of flowering tree that commonly appears in Korean art.

What is the knob in the middle with holes on either side, would that be used for hanging the mirror?

A rope or handle would be threaded through the knob with holes.

Is there any significance to the symbol at the bottom of the mirror?

I'm not sure what that symbol is. My best guess is that it is a Chinese character. It may even be a Chinese character backwards which sometimes happened on mold-made works made by craftsmen who did not read Chinese themselves.

Mirror

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, South, 2nd floor

Bronze mirrors—highly polished on one side and decorated on the reverse—were a common luxury item throughout East Asia and appear to have originated in China early in the country’s development of bronze technology, around 1700 B.C.E. or earlier. Both examples of Goryeo-period mirrors shown here make reference to Chinese sources. One shows a sage and a man with an ox standing on either side of a tree. It appears to represent the ancient Chinese story of Ning Qi, who was recruited to be a government adviser despite being a lowly cattle driver. The other mirror copies a known Chinese design, but in reverse, including backward Chinese characters, suggesting that the carver of the mold did not take into account that the final image would be flipped when it was cast.

MEDIUM Bronze

Possible Place Made: Korea

DATES 918–1392

DYNASTY Goryeo Dynasty

DIMENSIONS 1/2 x 6 1/16 in. (1.3 x 15.4 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Asian Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 34.5852

CREDIT LINE Brooklyn Museum Collection

EXHIBITIONS

Arts of Korea

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Asian Galleries, South, 2nd floor

CAPTION Mirror, 918–1392. Bronze, 1/2 x 6 1/16 in. (1.3 x 15.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 34.5852. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.5852_PS11.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 34.5852_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2016

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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