- Title
- Oracle Mirror with Chitipati
- Date Made
- 16th-17th century
- Medium
- Silver inlaid with coral and turquoise
- Dimensions
- Overall (Diameter): 5 3/8 × 1 3/8 in. (13.65 × 3.49 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.2017.180.1
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
The mirror is the perfect symbol of the emptiness and purity of mind: it is clear, luminous, and brilliant; it impartially reflects all phenomenal appearances, and yet is unaffected by the images that appear in it, proving that all phenomena are void. Some Buddha figures are depicted with a mirror, which is said to reflect the present and future karma of all other beings in the six realms of existence. Mirrors such as this one decorated with Chitipati (skeletons), the lords of the graveyard, and the root syllable hrih in the center are used in divination rituals. In the top center is a precious jewel. In the bottom center is a skull cup with offerings. The reverse is graced with a double thunderbolt (Sanskrit: vajra; Tibetan: dorje).
- Selected Bibliography
- Little, Stephen, Tushara Bindu Gude, Karina Romero Blanco, Silvia Seligson, Marco Antonio Karam. Las Huellas de Buda. Ciudad de México : Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2018.
- Little, Stephen, and Tushara Bindu Gude. Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art across Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2025.