An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c23.s5.5

v1.c23.s5.5

The finest examples of mirrors are from Taxila, where they are found only in the Śaka-Parthian city of Sirkap datable to the 1st century B.C.-A.D. (Marshall, 1951, pp. 215, 584-5). About a score in all, they are circular discs varying between 5·55 and 16·5 cm in diameter, 'furnished with a tang at the base which fitted into a bone, ivory or wooden handle. The face of the mirror is smooth and slightly convex, the back sometimes plain, but more frequently relieved with a broad wavy rim and a raised boss or *omphalos* in the centre.' These mirrors, unlike their w. prototypes, are not 'decorated with the incised or repoussé figures so often found on Greek mirrors' except the copper mirror pendant which has two birds facing each other on the rim which is a typically Greek pattern (*ibid.*, pp. 581 and 584). Another mirror pendant, of bronze, from Sirkap has the same motif but with a simplified design and the ring is attached to the handle of the mirror instead of to its top (*ibid*., p. 581). One of the mirrors with a tang 4·10 cm in length has been found separately along with its bone handle, roughly decorated with incised bands (*ibid*., pp. 215, 584), while another has also a complete bone handle (*ibid*.).