Over the centuries, pilgrims to Sanjin-Gōsaiden Shrine threw bronze mirrors into its pond as offerings to the three deities venerated in the Dewa Sanzan mountains of Yamagata prefecture. The shrine is located on Mount Haguro, the starting point for a pilgrimage known as the Journey of Rebirth. These early mirrors are thinly cast and often feature birds and flowers on their reverse, imagery inspired by the Yamato-e painting style that thrived at the Heian imperial court.
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草花蝶々鳥双羽黒鏡銅鏡
Title:Haguro Mirror (Haguro-kyō) with Birds, Flowers, and Butterflies
Period:Heian period (794–1185)
Date:12th century
Culture:Japan
Medium:Bronze
Dimensions:Diam. 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm); D. 1/4 in. (.6 cm)
Classification:Mirrors
Credit Line:The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Accession Number:1975.268.160
[ Harry G. C. Packard American, Tokyo, until 1975; donated and sold to MMA].
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Seasonal Pleasures in Japanese Art (Part One)," October 12, 1995–April 28, 1996.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Seasonal Pleasures in Japanese Art, Part II," May 1–September 8, 1996.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art in Early Japan," 1999–2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Enlightening Pursuits," February 28–August 5, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Graceful Gestures: A Decade of Collecting Japanese Art," September 29, 2001–March 10, 2002.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Sense of Place: Landscape in Japanese Art," May 8–September 8, 2002.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Birds, Flowers, and Buddhist Paradise Imagery in Japanese Art," February 14–June 13, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Tribute to a Dedicated Collector: Mary Griggs Burke," June 30–November 29, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Animals, Birds, Insects, and Marine Life in Japanese Art," June 26–November 30, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Beautiful Country: Yamato-e in Japanese Art," November 20, 2010–June 5, 2011.
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The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.
