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Hand Mirror

A work made of copper alloy.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of copper alloy.

Date:

New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (about 1550–1295 BCE)

Artist:

Egyptian

About this artwork

The round disk of this hand mirror was originally polished to a reflective sheen. The elegant shape of the handle references papyrus plants that grew in Egypt’s marshy regions. Together, the handle and disk evoke an image of the sun rising from a papyrus umbel (flower cluster), a symbol of the sun’s daily regeneration. The ancient Egyptian words for mirror and life are homonyms, so this object’s shape also playfully refers to the ankh hieroglyph used to write both words.

Status

On View, Gallery 50

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Ancient Egyptian

Title

Hand Mirror

Place

Egypt (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1550 BCE–1295 BCE

Medium

Copper alloy

Dimensions

20 × 10.3 × 2.2 cm (7 7/8 × 4 1/16 × 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number

1894.725

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/835/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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