A BRONZE CIRCULAR 'PHOENIX' MIRROR

LATE WARRING STATES PERIOD, 4TH-3RD CENTURY BC

Details

A BRONZE CIRCULAR 'PHOENIX' MIRROR
LATE WARRING STATES PERIOD, 4TH-3RD CENTURY BC
Thinly cast, the back with a small central knob set within a concave square border, the four phoenixes standing on the corners alternating with four stylized birds shown as if seen from above, all reserved on a ground of angular scrolls filled with granulation and coiled scrolls
4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm.) diam., 1/16 (.2 cm.) thick, box
78.3g

Provenance

Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired in Hong Kong, 1960s.

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Lot Essay

A very similar mirror from the Worch Collection is illustrated by B. Karlgren, "Huai and Han," BMFEA, Stockholm, 1941, No. 13, pl. 33 (D 34), and again by Karlgren in "Early Chinese Mirrors: Classification Scheme Recapitulated," BMFEA, Stockholm, 1968, No. 40, pl. 44 (D 34). Another mirror of this type and comparable size found in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 114-5, no. 22.

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