Old Chinese mirror Guanyin 118 millimeter

Old Chinese mirror, made somewhere in the 1st half of the 20th century. Made from 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.

Size: 11,8 centimeters diameter and 292 grams.

This Chinese mirror has a very ancient design. The style, with the central knob on the decorated backside and the Chinese symbolism (in this case four symbols for happiness and well-being) 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 beautiful decoration on this mirror shows a depiction of Guanyin, one of the most popular and yet very complex bodhisattva's worshipped in Buddhism. On this mirror she is shown in her aspect of Songzi; the Child-giving Guanyin, a form that became popular and widespread during the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644). In this aspect she was prayed to for blessing families with healthy children and especially male heirs.

Read more about the origin, design and usage of (shamanic) mirrors in the general description of our webshop collection "Mirrors and Melongs".