Egyptian. <em>Mirror with Handle in Form of Girl</em>, ca. 1400–1292 B.C.E. Bronze, 8 3/4 x 4 13/16 in. (22.2 x 12.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 60.27.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 60.27.1_front_PS2.jpg)

Egyptian. Mirror with Handle in Form of Girl, ca. 1400–1292 B.C.E. Bronze, 8 3/4 x 4 13/16 in. (22.2 x 12.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 60.27.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 60.27.1_front_PS2.jpg)

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Mirrors held great meaning to the ancient Egyptians. The oval shape mimics that of the sun when it first emerges over the horizon, a daily event that reminded the ancient Egyptians of rebirth and renewal.

The surface of the oval would have been buffed and buffed until it became reflective.

Why doesn't this mirror have glass?

The mirror was actually just a highly polished piece of bronze that you would have been able to see your reflection in!

Mirrors today are actually also made of a thin layer of reflective metal. They are just topped by a layer of glass to protect the metal!

Mirror with Handle in Form of Girl

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

Mirrors

Although commonplace objects to us, mirrors held great meaning to the ancient Egyptians.

The Egyptians first used mirrors in the Old Kingdom (Third through Sixth Dynasties; circa 2675–2170 B.C.E.) if not earlier. The design—elliptical disks supported by handles shaped like papyrus plants—symbolized the moment when the creator-god emerged from the primordial swamp in the form of the sun. The Egyptians believed that all life began in this so-called First Moment. When they picked up their mirrors each morning they were thus reminded of creation.

The shape of mirrors changed over time. In the Eighteenth Dynasty, the traditional oval disk was replaced by a circular form. Handles appeared in a wide variety of shapes, including images of animals, adolescent girls, and papyrus flowers.

CULTURE Egyptian

MEDIUM Bronze

Place Made: Egypt

DATES ca. 1400–1292 B.C.E.

DYNASTY second half of Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 8 3/4 x 4 13/16 in. (22.2 x 12.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 60.27.1

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Egyptian. Mirror with Handle in Form of Girl, ca. 1400–1292 B.C.E. Bronze, 8 3/4 x 4 13/16 in. (22.2 x 12.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 60.27.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 60.27.1_front_PS2.jpg)

IMAGE front, 60.27.1_front_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2010

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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