A BRONZE 'TLV' MIRROR

HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 220)

Details

A BRONZE 'TLV' MIRROR
HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 220)
The circular mirror with domed knob raised from a quatrefoil base bordered by a double-square, the outer field with eight nipples surrounded by feathers and TLV pattern, enclosed by rings of inscription and hatched pattern, all below three bands of sawtooth and double zig-zag patterns, the bronze with blackened patina
5¾ in. (14.5 cm.) diam., Japanese box

Provenance

A Japanese private collection, acquired circa 1980

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Lot Essay

Larger mirrors with TLV pattern are known. A mirror with similar major patterns to the present lot was excavated from a Han tomb at Hejiacun, located in the western outskirts of Xi'an, Shaanxi province, illustrated in Arts of China, Neolithic Cultures to the T'ang Dynasty, Recent Discoveries, Tokyo, 1968, p. 86, fig. 144. This large example (20.3 cm diam.) has instead a ground of small fish and birds, unlike the present feather ground. Also see a larger mirror (16.2 cm. diam.) of this type in the collection of the Harvard Arts Museums, sold at Christie's New York, 5 April 2011, lot 400.

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