A BRONZE 'GEOMETRIC DESIGN' MIRROR

EASTERN HAN DYNASTY (25-220)

Details

A BRONZE 'GEOMETRIC DESIGN' MIRROR
EASTERN HAN DYNASTY (25-220)
The circular mirror with a central domed knob which is raised on a quatrefoil platform intercepted by four characters Changyi zisun, 'To benefit a long line of descendents', encircled by a scalloped band enclosing floral and three-line symbols. The outer field is embellished with rings of circle-dotted lines and hatch pattern, all below a broad rim. The bronze has a silvery patina and areas of malachite encrustation.
6 1/4 in. (16 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

Provenance

A Japanese private collection, acquired circa 1980

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Angela Kung

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Lot Essay

A number of mirrors of similar pattern are known. Two are in the Idemitsu Collection, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, pls. 276 and 278. One is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Palace Museum's Collections of Bronze Mirrors, Beijing, 2008, pl. 18. Another two in the Donald H. Graham Jr. Collection are illustrated by Wong Yanchung, 'Bronze Mirror Art of the Han Dynasty', Chinese Bronzes - Selected articles from Orientations 1983-2000, Hong Kong, 2001, pp. 64-65, figs. 12-13.

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