Overview

The patina of this mirror is deep green. The flattened knob surround is patterned with chrysanthemum petals, and the hole in the knob bears traces of shallow scratches left by the manufacturing process. The narrow rim turns outward. The design of pines and cranes, in which a pair of cranes revolve around the central knob in a space scattered with clusters of pine needles, was a favorite mirror design of the Heian period (794-1185).

As in this mirror, examples on which the cranes face outward and revolve counter-clockwise are in the overwhelming majority, and this one can be considered an early example. A mirror decorated with cranes and pines in the collection of Kasuga Shrine, with an ink inscription dated to 1141 (Eiji 1), is the oldest dated example of this type of mirror, which reached its peak of popularity in the latter half of the 12th century.

Mirrors, like this, feature cranes depicted in outline, while others are rendered in high relief. The former appear only on mirrors with a thin plate and narrow rim, and it is likely that these were all produced in one particular workshop.