Mirror

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodNew Kingdom, Dynasty 18

Date1539-1292 BCE

MediumBronze

Credit LineGift of the Morgens West Foundation

Dimensions7 3/4 x 4 1/2 in. (19.7 x 11.4 cm)

Object number2005.017.001

Label TextEven the most mundane objects could have deep spiritual significance to the ancient Egyptians and be created with extraordinary skill. This mirror is replete with the symbolism of rejuvenation. In life, this underscores the rejuvenating effects of cosmetics that would have been applied with its help. In death, when placed in a tomb as a funerary offering, the mirror promised eternal rejuvenation to the deceased. The oval-shaped disk of the mirror itself recalls Egyptian depictions of the rising sun. Indeed the owner, when gazing into the polished bronze, would have appeared one with the orb and shared in its eternal power. The handle, cleverly and seamlessly crafted in the form of a papyrus head and nude young girl, also would evoke fertility and the prospect of rebirth. Around the girl's waist is incised a cowrie-shell girdle, often worn as a fertility emblem. The overall shape also imitates the hieroglyphic sign of the ankh, meaning "life," which was also an Egyptian word for "mirror."
Exhibition HistoryFrom Pharaohs to Emperors: New Egyptian and Classical Antiquities at Emory, Michael C. Carlos Museum, January 14 - April 2, 2006
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, 2006 - Present
Published ReferencesRupert Wace Ancient Art (2005), number 49.
MCCM Newsletter, December 2005 - February 2006.
Peter Lacovara and Jasper Gaunt, "From Pharaohs to Emperors: Egyptian, Near Eastern & Classical Antiquities at Emory," Minerva 17 (January/February 2006): 9-16.

ProvenanceEx private collection, Paris, France, acquired prior to 1960. Purchased by MCCM from Rupert Wace Ancient Art, Ltd., London, England.

Status

On view

Collections