Exhibition at Scholten Japanese Art explores representations of the mirror

Scholten Japanese Art announces the gallery presentation, Mirror Mirror: Reflecting Beauty in Japanese Prints and Paintings, an exhibition exploring representations of the mirror, both as a theme itself and as a visual metaphor for viewing other subjects in floating world imagery. Mirrors appear in compositions as accessories or key props in a story being told. Mirrors can function as ingenious framing devices or as windows into private space, and they provide seemingly endless opportunities for the artist to present an alternate view within a design. The use of kagami, round bronze mirrors, dates back nearly two thousand years in Japan to the Yayoi period (300 B.C. to 250 A.D.). Early mirrors were intimate, usually approximately 4 inches in diameter, with a smooth side of gilded tin which was highly polished to achieve a reflective quality. Precious for their material and their function, mirrors were used for Shinto ri