Overview

Excavated from the Nishinoda Sutra Mound
Diameter from lobe to lobe: 9.3 cm; diameter of inner rim: 5.9 cm; rim height: 0.45 cm; rim width: 0.2 cm; weight: 126 grams Late Heian period (10th-11th c.)

This mirror was excavated along with items, such as bronze mirrors, sutra cases, porcelain lidded containers, glass beads, cooking vessels, and various gilt utensils, from a stone cutter's workshop. Made of bronze with a high tin content (hakudo), it has a dark, blackish patina. The cross-sectioned trapezoid rim and the different heights of the inner and outer ridges are features seen in eight-cusped mirrors from the time of the Tang dynasty. The long-tailed, long-feathered phoenixes are also a classical design common to this type of mirror. From these stylistic features, some have dated this mirror to the first half of the tenth century. However, new elements, such as the truncated, decorative floral boss and eight-lobed inner rim, suggest that this mirror was produced some time around the eleventh century.