A SILVERY BRONZE 'LION AND GRAPEVINE' MIRROR

TANG DYNASTY (618-907)

Details

A SILVERY BRONZE 'LION AND GRAPEVINE' MIRROR
TANG DYNASTY (618-907)
The knob formed by a crouching animal surrounded by six further muscular animals clambering amidst grapevine, within a raised beaded border, the outer field with birds seen from various angles and insects in flight amidst further grapevine, all below small florets at the rim, with areas of malachite encrustation
5¾ in. (14.5 cm.) diam., box

Provenance

Acquired in Hong Kong, 1994.

Exhibited

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 2002-2006.

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Lot Essay

This finely cast mirror is similar to the slightly larger mirror found in the tomb of Dugu Shizhen, dated to 698, near Xi'an, illustrated by Kong Xiangxing, Illustrated Compendium of Chinese Bronze Mirrors, Beijing, 1992, p. 526. Another very similar mirror of comparable size (14.8 cm.) is illustrated by Ju-hsi Chou, Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000, no. 55.

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