A RARE WELL-CAST BRONZE MIRROR

SUI/EARLY TANG DYNASTY, 6TH-7TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE WELL-CAST BRONZE MIRROR
SUI/EARLY TANG DYNASTY, 6TH-7TH CENTURY
The large central knob encircled by six floral medallions, the outer field with ten animals, including phoenixes and fish, in mutual pursuit below a narrow, raised sawtooth and floret border on the canted rim, with an attractive silvery patina with patches of blue-green encrustation
8 3/16 in. (20.6 cm.) diam.

Lot Essay

The sawtooth and floret pattern along the canted rim of this mirror, consisting of triangles enclosed within quadruple lines and containing florets composed of raised dots, is a major design element on mirrors from the Sui to early Tang dynasty. A slightly smaller bronze mirror dated to the Sui/Tang period with a similar design on the canted rim, from the Donald. H. Graham Jr. Collection, is illustrated by T. Nakano, Bronze Mirrors from Ancient China, Hong Kong, 1994, p. 199.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

View All