Beginner’s Guide to Magic Mirrors in China and Japan. An Illuminating and Reflective Guide, Feb. 2023.
Monday, February 6th, 2023
Jump directly to the Magic Mirror Guidebook. On 13 July 2022, the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) announced the discovery of a Buddhist-themed magic mirror in its collection. The museum’s curator of East Asian Art, Hou-mei Sung, mentioned she is aware of only two other museums in possession of such a rare mirror. Bronze magic mirrors (like the one at CAM ) are indeed rare, but not that rare. To date, over twenty religious-themed magic mirrors have been identified, including four featuring a Christian motif. This guide presents twelve of them, located at museums in Japan, the UK, and the USA. There are two distinct types of magic mirror: one-plated and two-plated. One-plated magic mirrors originated in ancient times. Extant examples are abundant. Two-plated magic mirrors like CAM’s are very scarce and [it seems] of relatively recent origin. This guide presents both varieties, but the main focus is on two-plated magic mirrors.
Click above image to jump to Beginner’s Guide to Magic Mirrors.
█ KEYWORDS. 透光鏡・魔鏡・平原遺跡・三種の神器・古鏡記・王度・三角縁神獣鏡・南无阿弥陀佛・南無阿彌陀仏・念佛・天下一・見日之光・天下大明・踏み返し鋳造法・山本合金製作所.
