Bronze Mirror with Coarse Linear Design

[Doctor]
This is an artifact from the Bronze Age. What do you think it is?

[Tourist]
Oh! I think I know. It looks like a shield. The soldiers of ancient Greece used shields that looked similar to this in battle. It was used together with the bronze sword we just looked at, wasn’t it?

[Doctor]
Don’t you think it is a little too small to be a shield? This is the back of a bronze mirror. Most of the bronze mirrors exhibited in museums are displayed like this, with their backs exposed to highlight their decorative features, such as patterns, images and inscriptions. Here, take a closer look. There are rough designs engraved on the back, such as thick lines and triangles. That is why it is referred to as a “mirror with coarse linear designs.”

[Tourist]
Oh, then what did the front of the mirror look like? Was it made of glass like the mirrors we use today?

[Doctor]
No, the front of the bronze mirror lacked decoration and was polished to a smooth, shiny finish to reflect light. This mirror is now tinged green as the metal has corroded over thousands of years, but it used to be bronze, almost golden even, in color.

[Tourist]
I assumed that the mirror is belonging to woman maybe the wives of clan leaders or female rulers?

[Doctor]
Um! That may have been the case although the bronze mirror had a more important purpose than to provide a reflection at that time. They were circular like the sun and also reflected light like the sun. The light emanating from the sun, which symbolized life, was harnessed and brought to earth by the bronze mirror.

[Tourist]
People must have believed then that the mirror's owner had been chosen by the gods. People must also have been rather fearful of such a powerful figure.

[Doctor]
That’s exactly true. It was probably the case that rulers ascended platforms or hillocks in order to speak to the crowd below, while wearing the bronze mirrors on their chests. They would have appeared like the sons of gods and therefore would have been respected by the people.