Museum in Henan features rare ancient mirror

A bronze makeup mirror at the Luoyang Museum in Henan province vividly showcases the ancient Chinese people's craftsmanship. Mirrors like these were regarded as one of the most popular cosmetic tools among the beauties in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). They are rare and mainly only unearthed in the tombs from the early and mid-Tang Dynasty.

The back of the bronze mirror features an eye-catching vibrant "mini garden" decorated with a large number of gold pieces and embellished with silver flowers, flying butterflies and phoenixes. The crafting process for these types of mirrors required substantial skill and time.

It was excavated from the Guanlin tombs in Luoyang city in 1970. With a diameter of 30.5 centimeters, the well-preserved bronze mirror is shaped like a sunflower and weighs 2.74 kilograms.