A BRONZE CIRCULAR 'PHOENIX' MIRROR

LATE WARRING STATES PERIOD, 4TH-3RD CENTURY BC

Details

A BRONZE CIRCULAR 'PHOENIX' MIRROR
LATE WARRING STATES PERIOD, 4TH-3RD CENTURY BC
The back with a small central knob set within a concave square border, the four phoenixes that stand on the corners alternating with four small long-tailed birds, each standing on an angular scroll, all reserved on a ground of coiled scrolls and granular pattern arranged in a grid of diamond-shaped lozenges, with silvery grey patina and malachite encrustation with traces of fabric impression on the reverse
4 7/8 in. (12.5 cm.) diam., 1/16 in. (.2 cm.) thick, box
144.5g

Provenance

Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired from Alice Boney in Japan, 1960s.

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Lot Essay

A similar mirror of slightly smaller size (11.2 cm.) found in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 114-5, no. 22. Another from the collection of His Majesty King Gustav VI Adolf is illustrated by B. Karlgren, "Early Chinese Mirrors: Classification Scheme Recapitulated," BMFEA, Stockholm, 1968, No. 40, pl. 46 (D 38).

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