Hand Mirror
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (about 1550–1295 BCE)
Medium
Copper alloy
Dimensions
20 × 10.3 × 2.2 cm (7 7/8 × 4 1/16 × 7/8 in.)
Classification
mirror
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
835
Rights
Public Domain
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.
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....