Bronze mirror

Typically they are round and rather small, in the West with a handle, in East Asia with a knob to hold at the back, often with a loop for a cord, or silk tassel.

[2] In surviving ancient examples the surface is too corroded to be reflective, but some bronze mirrors are still made.

The ancient Greeks and others used mirrors for divining,[3] and the Chinese believed they stored sunlight, and so could "guide the deceased through the underworld", making them essential grave-goods.

[5] Most ancient images show them being used by women, and figurative imagery on the back, as in Roman mirrors, often reflects female interests.

[6] Glass mirrors with superior reflectivity began to be made in the Roman Empire in the 1st century CE, but remained very expensive for a long time, as well as easy to break, and initially hardly any more reflective,[7] so that bronze mirrors remained common in many parts of the world until the 19th century.

[12] These Egyptian mirrors are spoken of in biblical Book of Exodus (1500 BCE), and used by Moses in the construction of the Tabernacle.

They generally had a knob or loop in the center of the back so that they could be easily held in the hand, and sometimes attached to clothing.

After disappearing in the Greek Dark Ages, they returned in Archaic Greece, including some mirrors on elaborate stands (already an Egyptian type), as well as hand-mirrors with handles.

[20] In the Indus valley civilization, manufacture of bronze mirrors goes back to the time between 2800 and 2500 BCE.

With excavations in Adichanallur and Keeladi in Tamil Nadu, India, it is confirmed that communities lived around the Vaigai river valley in the Bronze Age.

The excavations done in Adichanallur in 1899 by Alexander Rea, the then Superintendent of the Archeological Survey of India, Southern circle brought out two bronze circular items.

[23] Aranmula kannadi are still made on a small scale in Kerala, South India, using a type of speculum metal, an extra reflective alloy of copper and tin.

The c. 5th-century Suda Hachiman Shrine Mirror is a National Treasure of Japan, largely for the linguistic importance of its cast characters.