SONG DYNASTY (960-1279)

Details

A RARE BRONZE 'CELESTIAL' MIRROR
SONG DYNASTY (960-1279)
The circular mirror is cast in relief with a small knob surrounded by a celestial scene. In the foreground two figures are crossing a bridge above a dragon among rolling waves, overshadowed by a large wutong tree. Two animals, probably a hare and a toad, couch by the shore. A lady and two attendants appear on clouds in front of a palace. There are areas of malachite encrustation.
7 1/2 in. (19 cm.) diam., box

Provenance

Ronald W. Longsdorf, no. 1240

Brought to you by

Nick Wilson

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Lot Essay

A very similar larger example (21.5 cm. diam.) in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum is illustrated by R. Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, p. 94, fig. 76, where she relates the narrative to the fabled excursion of the Tang Xuanzong emperor (r. 712-756). The emperor, a Daoist follower, dreamed of visiting the Moon Place where he met the moon goddess Chang E. In the design, he is shown in the centre of the bridge. The dragon underneath is associated with water and emperors, and the hare on the side is associated with the moon. This kind of pictorial design echoes the narrative theme popular in contemporaneous ink paintings. Two shaped mirrors with the same subject are also illustrated, op. cit., fig. 77. Another similar circular mirror is in the Beijing Palace Museum. See Bronze Articles for Daily Use, The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2006, pl. 196.

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