Chinese magic mirrors (light-transmitting)
Espejos mágicos chinos de luz transmitida
- Date
- c. century I a.C.-VII d.C. · confidence low
- Place
- Wei River basin, Shaanxi, China
- Credited to
- Chinese bronze-casters of the Han and Tang periods
- Field
- Communication
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A polished bronze mirror whose back carries a relief that, when it reflects a sunbeam onto a wall, appears as if the metal were transparent. The image arises from tiny curvature differences on the polished face, caused by casting and scraping.
The oldest specimens are dated to the Han period, but secure written descriptions are from the Tang dynasty and the dating of the first mirrors is uncertain.
What it led to
- Shen Kuo's study of the cause of the effect (11th century)
- Japanese magic mirrors (makkyō)
- analyses of surface curvature by Ayrton, Perry and Berry