Smoky
quartz mirror
The mirror, an object
of practical daily use, was often transformed
in the past into beautifully crafted works
of art. In Chinese antiquity, mirrors were
usually made from such metals as bronze or
iron, with those crafted from jade or stone
being much rarer and all the more precious.
This work in the Museum
collection was originally entitled "Black
jade mirror", having once been considered
carved from dark jade. In fact, the Kuang-hsü
Emperor once composed the poem "In Praise
of a Black Jade Mirror", in which he
wrote, "Stars sink to the bottom of the
sea as the light of clouds turn black"
and "Mirrored beard and hair appear pure
and unadulterated". He was, in fact,
perhaps referring to this mirror, even though
modern scholars now believe it is not actually
made from black jade, but "smoky quartz"
instead.
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