TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

Details

A SILVERY-BRONZE CIRCULAR 'ZODIAC' MIRROR
TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)
There is a single character, geng, the seventh symbol of the decimal cycle in the zodiac calendar, cast above the rat. Eight further characters, each within a petal-shaped cartouche, are cast within a square band that surrounds the tortoise-form knop. They may be read as lang zhi cheng zhen, wei wu zheng shen, which may be translated as "the bright substance (of this mirror) is pure and true, by this means the gods may be called upon to the benefit of all."
5 7⁄8 in. (14.9 cm.) diam., metal stand, cloth box

Provenance

Austin Family Collection, acquired in the 1920s.
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 7 January 2005, no. 3896.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Rufus Chen (陳嘉安) Head of Sale, AVP, Specialist

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Lot Essay

A very similar mirror, in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, was included in the exhibition, Toukyou (Tang Mirrors), Sen-oku Hakuko Kan Museum, Kyoto, 2006, no. 61. Another is illustrated by W. P. Yetts, The Eumorfopoulos Collection, vol. II, London, 1930, pl. XIV, no. B 25.

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