Antique Japan Japanese

Antique Japanese Kagami Hand Mirror Bronze Crane Pine Tree Japan Meiji 19th C

Antique Japanese Kagami Hand Mirror Bronze Crane Pine Tree Japan Meiji 19th C

Antique Japanese Kagami Hand Mirror Bronze Crane Pine Tree Japan Meiji 19th C

Auctions is pleased to offer a fine and beautiful antique Japanese mirror or kagami made from cast bronze. Bronze mirrors were introduced into Japan from China during the Yayoi period (about 300 BC - AD 300). Early Japanese mirrors used a number of designs based on Chinese originals. Their function was mainly religious as they were regarded as symbols of authority.

Later, the Japanese soon learnt to make their own mirrors using the lost-wax technique, decorating them with Chinese or traditional Japanese designs. The faces of mirrors were highly polished or burnished, with itinerant tinners and polishers specializing in this work. Bronze mirrors were replaced by glass mirrors after the Meiji Restoration (1868).

These pieces were popular as wedding gifts, with the decoration usually symbolic of eternity and harmony. This very beautiful round hand mirror has a low relief decoration to the back with pine trees, and a cranes set in a traditional Japanese landscape. Cranes mate for life, so they are often used as emblems of marital fidelity. They also appear at New Year to signify long life. Here the crane is shown evoking an image very reminiscent of the Egyptian protective falcon god, Horus, while the pine boughs - also symbols of New Year - are scattered informally across the design. The royal connection is significant because in Japan the mirror, together with the sword and the jewel, formed part of the Imperial regalia. The mirror measures 5.5 inches in diameter by 7 inches in height (13.9 cm by 17.7 cm), including the specially designed, hand-made iron museum display stand. This is a fine collectors piece and would make a worthy addition to any collection of Japanese kagami, art, mirrors, or Asian art in general. Our goal is to bring the same experience and excitement of collecting that we have been delivering in-person to collectors across the Globe at Primitive in Chicago. Every object we sell online has been carefully hand-selected with special attention to detail, quality, and significance.

The item "ANTIQUE JAPANESE KAGAMI HAND MIRROR BRONZE CRANE PINE TREE JAPAN MEIJI 19TH C" is in sale since Saturday, August 26, 2017. This item is in the category "Antiques\Asian Antiques\Japan\Other Japanese Antiques". The seller is "gjpaw" and is located in Chicago, Illinois.

This item can be shipped worldwide.

  • Color: Dark Wood Tone
  • Maker: Unknown
  • Type: Mirrors
  • Primary Material: Bronze
  • Age: 1850-1899
  • Region of Origin: Japan
  • Original/Reproduction: Original


Antique Japanese Kagami Hand Mirror Bronze Crane Pine Tree Japan Meiji 19th C