A BRONZE CIRCULAR 'CLOUD AND NEBULAE' MIRROR

MID WESTERN HAN DYNASTY, 2ND CENTURY BC

Details

A BRONZE CIRCULAR 'CLOUD AND NEBULAE' MIRROR
MID WESTERN HAN DYNASTY, 2ND CENTURY BC
Crisply cast in high relief, the central peaked knob surrounded by six tapering spikes within a raised border of linked swirls, the main field with four large nipples alternating with clusters of smaller nipples joined by scrolls, all within narrow borders below the raised outer border of further joined arcs, with satiny, dark grey patina
5 1/8 in. (13 cm.) diam., ¼ in. (.4 cm.) thick, box
289.6g

Provenance

Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired in Hong Kong, 1988.

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Lot Essay

Compare the similar mirror illustrated by Lu Jianguo and Jia Jing in "Some Examples from the Ancient Bronze Mirror Collection of the Baoji Museum," Wenwu, 1991:7, p. 84, fig. 2, where it is dated mid Western Han dynasty. See, also, the similar mirror illustrated by Ju-hsi Chou, Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000, p. 34, no. 13, where the author notes that this type of mirror is found in many areas of China at burial sites of mid to late Western Han date.

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