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The KNM Collection
Masterpieces of the KNM
Metalwork
Mirror with Chrysanthemums and Sparrows Design

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Metalwork

Important Art Object

Mirror with Chrysanthemums and Sparrows Design

Japan, Kamakura Period, 13th century
Diameter 20.6 cm, Thickness 0.3 cm
Kyoto National Museum (EK207)

This mirror was made with the hakudo nickel-casting technique. It depicts playful sparrows and a suhama sandbank abloom with chrysanthemums.

The chrysanthemum had been used as a subject of mirror design since the late-Heian period, but the combination of chrysanthemums and suhama sandbank became popular in the Kamakura Period.

With its realistic, finely detailed design and its refined casting technique, this mirror is one of the outstanding extant examples of its kind.

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