Copper and wood mirror, Dyn. 8
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Links to other views:⇒ Larger Viewif scripting is off, click the ⇒ instead. Links to others of type MirrorBronze mirror, double Horus, Dyn. 12Bronze Mirror, Rome, 50 BC-50 AD Engraved bronze mirror, Persia, 1100 BC Engraved mirror, Etruria, 300 BC Engraved mirror, Etruria, 380 BC Engraved mirror, Etruria, 400-300 BC Hammered bronze mirror, Persia, c.1000 BC Mirror, Amlash, Persia, 1100-900 BC Mirror with long handle, Etruria, 400 BC |
This large hand mirror combines, in a very Egyptian manner, practical use and symbolic representation. The thin (1 mm) disk of hammered copper formerly polished to a high sheen (perhaps even gilded for greater reflectivity) bears obvious solar connotations. The cedar wood handle was shaped as an ideogram, epithet of the solar Horus, which sometimes means “Abydus”(Gardiner 1957). Alternately, it could be the hieroglyph used in the Old Kingdom representing the sunshade accompanying the king (Gardiner 1957). In their monograph on mirrors, Anlen and Padiou (1989) discuss the manufacturing processes of that period as follows: “Bronze was sometimes used as thin sheet metal, hammered then thoroughly sanded. For copper and bronze, archaic models were thin, around 1.5-2.5 mm. Starting with Dynasty 12, the thickness started to increase (3 to 8 mm on the average). This increase was due in part to the new technique of poured mirror disks, and to the fact that the disk itself, as an object of cult, needed to be more substantial.” In remarkable condition despite its four thousand years of age, this rudimentary looking mirror is a reflection of its epoch--the First Intermediary Period. Following the collapse of Dynasty 6 after the death of Queen Nitiqret (around 2181 BC) and ending the golden age of the Old Kingdom, the First Intermediary Period was a time of unrest and political uncertainty caused or aggravated by climatic factors. Bibliography (for this item)Anlen, Léon, and Roger Padiou1989 Les miroirs de bronze anciens. Guy Tredaniel, Paris, France. Gardiner, Alan 1957 Egyptian Grammar. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press, London, United Kingdom. Khalil, Hassan M. 1976 Preliminary Studies on the Sanusret Collection. Manuscript, Musée l’Egypte et le Monde Antique, Monaco-Ville, Monaco. |
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