TLV Mirror

Welcome to the Site

The art and technique of casting Han-period bronze mirrors reached a peak in the so-called TLV sishen mirrors. The decoration consists of two major components: ornament and inscription. Both components comply with certain rules while leaving some room for customization and free options. This program aims to deepen the understanding of these rules and freedoms. You are asked to design a mirror by filling into the blank zones certain decorative elements listed on the left panel. Identify which elements have rules and which do not and place the selected elements in proper ways.

Place Your Motif

Placement

Where would you like to place this motif?

Rotation

How should the motif be rotated?

Direction

In which direction should this motif to face?

Inscriptions

…王氏作四夷服多新家人民息胡殄天下雨五熟保二子力官位尊蒙食告後世大利兮

…尚方作竟大毋巧工刻之成文章左右虎掌四方朱玄武利子具居中央上有仙人高敖羊保二富昌如金石侯王

…新辟雍建明堂列於土比列侯王子服具治中央

Major Motifs

Minor Motifs

Bands

How to Create Your Mirror

The art and technique of casting Han-period bronze mirrors reached a peak in the so-called TLV sishen mirrors. The decoration consists of two major components: ornament and inscription. Both components comply with certain rules while leaving some room for customization and free options. This program aims to deepen the understanding of these rules and freedoms. You are asked to design a mirror by filling into the blank zones certain decorative elements listed on the left panel. Identify which elements have rules and which do not and place the selected elements in proper ways.

Credits

This application was created by Alicia Peaker, Director of Digital Scholarship, Critical Making, and Digital Collections Management at Bryn Mawr College in collaboration with Jie Shi, Assistant Professor of History of Art, and Project Director. The mirror and its components were designed and created by Jialu Guo ('19). Nisha Choudhary ('21) helped with converting the mirror components into usable file formats. Matt Jameson (Ph.D. Candidate, Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology) consulted on the design of the application and created several 3D photogrammetry models of TLV mirrors that inspired its production.