A RARE PARCEL-GILT BRONZE OCTAFOIL MIRROR

TANG DYNASTY (618-907)

Details

A RARE PARCEL-GILT BRONZE OCTAFOIL MIRROR
TANG DYNASTY (618-907)
Of linghua (water chestnut flower) shape and crisply cast, the knob surrounded by four animals shown in lively positions as they frolic atop a flowering scroll within the raised inner edge of the outer band cast in the eight barbed lobes with alternating insects and foliate sprays, the animals and insects highlighted by gilding in contrast to the grey patina
6 11/16 in. (17 cm.) across, ¼ in. (.5 cm.) thick, box
494.5g

Provenance

Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired in Hong Kong, 1990.

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Lot Essay

The four animals on this mirror are particularly expressive as they leap amidst the stems of the flower scroll. They are also unusual in the depiction of the tufts of hair detailing their legs, heads, bodies, and long tails. The unusual positions of some of the animals are similar to those seen in animals chased on the silver back of a bronze octalobed mirror (linghua type ) of Tang date, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Tang Mirrors, Sen-Oku Hakuko Kan, Kyoto, 2006, p. 43, no. 55.

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