Mirror with Jaguar or Coyote Mosaic
500–600 CE
Medium
Iron pyrite, jade, shell, magnatite or ilmenite, and spondylus shell
Dimensions
Diam.: 19.1 cm (7 1/2 in.)
Classification
accessories (object genre)
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
132675
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
For over 2,000 years, polished stone mirrors were an important component of Mesoamerican attire, ritual, and symbolic imagery. This mirror is made of a single sheet of polished pyrite stone and includes a jade jaguar mosaic at its center. Mirrors often functioned as emblems of rank and office and were typically worn at the small of the back. The depiction of such mirrors in ancient murals, as worn by warriors, priests, and state officials, attests to their importance in the spectacular art of ri...