'Magic mirror': Hidden image revealed in reflection of centuries-old artifact
Amid the thousands of treasures in the Cincinnati Art Museum's East Asian art collection, a small bronze mirror dating back to the 15th or 16th century always seemed rather unremarkable.
Last exhibited in 2017, it had spent much of the preceding decades in storage ...
While researching so-called "magic mirrors" -- rare ancient mirrors that, in certain light, reveal images or patterns hidden on their reflective surfaces -- the museum's curator of East Asian art, Hou-mei Sung, saw something resembling the examples from Edo-period Japan. ...
So, last spring, she visited the museum's storage rooms accompanied by a conservation expert.
"I asked her to shine a strong, focused light on the mirror," Sung said on a video call from Cincinnati. "So, she used her cell phone (flashlight) and it worked."
On the wall before them was the appearance of texture in the reflected light -- not a distinct image, but enough to warrant further investigation. Following experiments using more powerful and focused lights, the mirror eventually revealed the image of a Buddha, rays of light emanating from his seated form. The inscription on the mirror's back spells out who was depicted: Amitabha, an important figure in various schools of East Asian Buddhism. ...