A mirror invites us to imagine someone looking into it. Before building that story, inspect what its museum record actually establishes. The Met’s mirror, object 26.7.835a, b, offers a compact starting point: it is dated approximately 1560–1525 BCE and described as bronze or copper alloy.
Look beyond the disc
The record describes a papyrus-stalk handle with decorative patterns and a falcon on either side of the upper form. These details make the handle part of the object’s visual design, not merely something to hold.
The museum also records that it was found with other personal items inside a basket placed in a coffin. That is a documented archaeological association. It does not by itself identify every occasion on which the mirror was used.
Keep observation and biography apart
In a reading note, give one line to material and form, another to find context, and a third to unanswered questions. Avoid turning the object into evidence for a particular person’s habits unless the record supports that claim.
The site’s header illustration is thematic, not a photograph of this mirror. Use the linked museum record for the object images and identification. A careful visit to a single record can reveal both the richness of an everyday object and the limits of the story we can responsibly tell about it.