Bronze mirror decorated with pines and cranes

From Japan
Late Heian period, 12th century AD

Early Japanese mirrors used a number of designs based on Chinese originals. However, from the Nara period (AD 710-94), Japanese mirror-makers began to substitute native Japanese motifs: for example, plants of good omen such as cherry, blossom and pine replaced auspicious Chinese flowers, and we find cranes instead of phoenixes.

Cranes mate for life, so they are often used as emblems of marital fidelity. They also appear at New Year to signify long life. Here the cranes fly together in perfect symmetry, while the pine boughs, also symbols of New Year, are scattered more informally across the design.

L. Smith, V. Harris and T. Clark, Japanese art: masterpieces in (London, The British Museum Press, 1990)