The Palace Museum in Beijing has shared a range of photos of its collection of mirrors on micro blog Sina Weibo in celebration of the autumn.
China has a long history of mirror culture, dating back to the late Neolithic Age. The ancient poem Mulan has sentences that portray a woman primping in front of a mirror. With the introduction of Western glass mirrors in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the shapes, structures and decorations of Chinese mirrors became highly diverse. Some mirrors were even placed into jade pendants so that people could carry them everywhere. Let's take a look at the various mirrors in the Forbidden City.
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A handled bronze mirror painted with pagodas from Qing Dynasty. [Photo/Official Weibo account of the Palace Museum] |
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A white jade mirror pendant from Qing Dynasty. [Photo/Official Weibo account of the Palace Museum] |
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A cloisonne enamel mirror decorated with double-phoenix patterns from Qianlong Period of Qing Dynasty. [Photo/Official Weibo account of the Palace Museum] |
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A hardwood mirror box embedded with jewelries from Qing Dynasty. [Photo/Official Weibo account of the Palace Museum] |
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A jade mirror carved in the shape of a peach from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). [Photo/Official Weibo account of the Palace Museum] |
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An ivory-carved dressing case with a stand-up mirror from Qing Dynasty. [Photo/Official Weibo account of the Palace Museum] |
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A yellow-satin needlework mirror embroidered with auspicious gourds, from Tongzhi Period of Qing Dynasty. [Photo/Official Weibo account of the Palace Museum] |
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An oval painted enamel hand mirror decorated with auspicious patterns from the Qing Dynasty. [Photo/Official Weibo account of the Palace Museum] |
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A round gourd-made mirror with hawksbill frame, decorated with phoenix patterns, from Qing Dynasty. [Photo/Official Weibo account of the Palace Museum] |
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