STEFAN HEIDEMANN: Hello, my name is Stefan Heidemann. I'm here with Marika Sardar from our department.

MARIKA SARDAR: I'm interested in these three objects, which are the backs of mirrors, because of the imagery on them, but also how they were used in divination, or the practice of trying to determine the future.

STEFAN HEIDEMANN: The magical purpose of using mirrors is not well-known, because it is not part of the official ritual practice of Islam, of course. There's a lot of action on the largest of these mirrors. What is it?

MARIKA SARDAR: Well, we think that the seated figure at the top of the mirror is the biblical King Solomon, who in Islamic tradition is thought to have power over these demons, or jinns, who are the rest of the figures depicted around the mirror with animal heads and other wild or fantastic features.

STEFAN HEIDEMANN: If you could turn the mirror to its shiny side, then you would see a verse of the Qur'an written just around the margin. So, this is how folk belief merges with Islamic belief.

MARIKA SARDAR: We're not sure exactly how these mirrors were used in divination, but in other cultures and at other times, we know that mirrors could be used to determine the fate of a person who was ill. They would lower the mirror into and depending on how their reflection looks… they'll know if they will recover or become more ill. Another way they might've been used is by reflecting the rays of the moon, and supposedly writing would appear in the mirror, giving some kind of omen.