拍品 10
10
AN UNUSUAL SILVERED BRONZE MIRROR
AN UNUSUAL SILVERED BRONZE MIRROR

TANG DYNASTY

細節
AN UNUSUAL SILVERED BRONZE MIRROR
tang dynasty
Deeply cast with five felines amidst fruiting vines around the domed central knop, encircled with a band containing a poetic inscription, the raised tapering rim decorated with crisp geometric bands, the steel-grey surface with malachite encrustation
5 in. (14 cm.) diam.

拍品專文

The inscription Guang liu su yue zhi bin xuan jing cheng kong jian shui zhao jiong yi qing zhong gu yong gu ying ci ling can be translated as 'Its light flows like the white moon; its substance comprises transparent ether. As clear as air, reflecting like water; dazzling afar, seeming ever brighter. For all time perpetually strong; may you cause this soul to shine.'

Above four-line inscription is typical of Tang practice. The last sentence suggests that it may have been intended as a mortuary object to accompany the deceased into the afterlife.