Antique Chinese bronze shamanic mirror Sea Beasts and Grapes 120 millimeter

The use of metal mirrors as an indispensable attribute for people dealing with the worlds of the spirits on a regular base, such as professional shamans and priests, is already known for more than 6000 years. As such they have been found in excavations all over (especially) the Eurasian continent. From Tibet, Siberia, Nepal to China.

In different regions, the shamanic mirror is known with different names, such as kuzungu, toli, panaptu, melong, darpana or chinza. But regardless of the name, the mirror is attributed the same sacred functions in all these regions. Such as; protection against malignant forces, amplifying the power of the heart from the one wearing it, being a guide and protector in other worlds, being a spirit container and assisting in oraclework and scrying. 

The shamanic mirror is one of the most important attributes in the tradition of Spirit of Wolf and is worn during all kinds of rituals and healing work. 

A shamanic mirror can be made in different shapes and patterns, and be decorated with all kinds of motives and symbolism. The frontside is often very shiny and should be regularly polished to be able to reflect all negative influences away. 

Shamanic mirrors can be made from different kinds of metal. The diverse metals are attributed certain correspondences such as: 
- Brass or bronze, connected to the Sun
- Silver, connected to the Moon
- Copper, connected to Underworld Sun

This Chinese shamanic mirror has a very ancient design. The style, with the central knob on the decorated backside and the Chinese symbolism is amongst the oldest known Chinese shamanic mirrors, dating back almost 4000 years. Mirrors like this are often made with the 'lost wax' bronze casting method. This style of mirror is still highly regarded nowadays.

The decoration on this mirror is a replica of a motive that became very popular in the Chinese Tang dynasty (618-907 CE); a kind of depiction known as Kaiyu Budo-kyo, a name deriving from the typical pattern of grapevine arabesques and animal motifs. The term Kaiyu Budo-kyo is mostly used in Japan; mirrors with this kind of motive were often imported into Japan and have been discovered there in significant archaelogical contexts such as tomb offerings, temple deposits and ritual sites. In China, they were mostly referred to as Ruisho Budo-kyo.

There are some variations in the motive of the animals depicted on the Kaiyu Budo-kyo mirrors. There may be for example dragons, peacocks, birds or butterflies. But the most common animal motive is that of the "Sengmi", which can also be seen on this mirror here in our shop. The Sengmi is a mythical creature existing for the most part out of a lion. Lions were not native to China, but entered there from regions such as Persia and India, as part of the trade in all kinds of exotics, most likely during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). Together with the physical animals also their symbolism as a sign of royalty and royal authority was adopted into Chinese iconography and they quickly became a popular motive on all kinds of metalwork and textiles.

The Sengmi on these kinds of mirrors however, even though they are for the most part lions, are most often referred to as "Sea creatures" or "Sea beasts". To this day, the exact reason for calling it a 'sea creature' remains debated among scholars.

Also the grapes came were introduced into China through trade with west-Asia during the Han dynasty. They came to be associated with prosperity and large numbers of offspring.

The characters on the outer circle can be translated roughly as "let me look not through a mirror, but into the essence of the nature of things."

This mirror is made somewhere in the early 1900's. It is made of bronze, which has beautifully aged with a dark green-grey patina over the years. So please take note; while we usually recommend to polish your mirrors regularly to keep them shiny, of course for this one we certainly wouldn't recommend such a thing.

This mirror has a diameter of 12 centimeters and weighs 296 grams.

Only one available.