A stunning 16th-century Chinese ‘magic mirror’ was found in a US art museum after being tucked away in storage

The mirror was believed to be an unremarkable artefact, interesting just in the fact that it was old

But a Cincinnati Art Museum curator was researching artefacts and decided to test if it was a rare ‘magic mirror’, which it was

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A magic mirror projects an image of a buddha through subtle carvings. Photograph: Rob Deslongchamps

Published: 12:00pm, 25 Jul 2022

What was once thought to be an unremarkable, albeit old, Chinese mirror sitting in storage in a museum in the American midwest turned out to be a spectacular artefact full of awe and mystery.

Dr Sung Hou-mei, the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Curator of East Asian Art, was researching the ancient artwork that the Ohio museum had collected since 1961. Then she turned her attention to a 16th-century mirror with its most notable feature being the Chinese characters on the back, which spelled the name of the Amitābha Buddha.

She decided to test a theory and asked the team to place direct light on the centre of the mirror, which had been in storage since 2017.

What it revealed was momentous: when the light was reflected off the mirror it revealed an image of the Amitābha Buddha surrounded by emanating rays of light.

“The Buddhist ‘magic mirror’ was designed for offering hope and salvation, so I think this discovery is an auspicious blessing for our museum and our city,” said Sung.

“I tested this mirror because, through research, I found one other example of a Buddhist magic mirror,” she added.

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