Japanese magic mirror

Place	Japan
Date	19th century
Register	00871

The so-called magic mirror is a 3 mm thick bronze disc with a handle. On one side there are sculpted figures in low relief - birds, trees and Japanese graphics - and the other side, completely flat, is polished and coated with a mercury amalgam that acts as a mirror. Its "magic" only occurs in specific lighting conditions: when a large amount of light is reflected by the side of the mirror, the low-relief images are revealed and projected onto a wall, with more or less precision. Originally from China, where they had been manufactured since ancient times, they were very popular in Japan, where they went by the name of makyo and were used for both religious and secular purposes. Among the religious themes there was a frequent depiction of Amida Buddha, from whom emanate forty-eight rays of light, one for each of the vows he made as a bodhisattva.

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