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Eight-petalled mirror box

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Eight-petalled mirror box

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Number of components: 1
Dimensions (in cm): D. 33.5, H. 10.1
Date of production: Heian period 12th century

This eight-petalled mirror box has a decorative tin band encircling the rims of the lid and the box. The top of the lid features eight alternating ridges and grooves radiating from the center. It is thought to have been handed down at Kasuga-taisha Shrine in Nara, where there are two similar mirror boxes with distinctive engravings on the lid. The box appears to have undergone major repairs quite recently but was probably fashioned, long ago, as a shrine offering. Based on its dimensions, it is highly likely that the box originally held an eight-petalled mirror that had also been an offering to the shrine.

Notable Works

Eight-petalled mirror box

SUNTORY MUSEUM of ART