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Lot Essay
This style of mirror is often referred to in Chinese texts as a “Five Sacred Peaks” mirror. The five mountains it alludes to are the revered peaks of Taishan in the east (Shandong), Huashan in the west (Shaanxi), Hengshan in the north (Shanxi), Hengshan in the south (Hunan), and Songshan at the center of China (Henan).
The depiction of the ‘five peaks’ landscape on this mirror is exceedingly rare, and only two other examples appear to have been published. One (24 cm.) is in the Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, illustrated by M. Knight in “Bronze in Chinese Culture from the Shang to the Tang Dynasty,” Orientations, August 1994, pp. 25-34, fig. 16. Also, see, the example (18 cm.) in the Shaanxi Historical Museum, illustrated by J. Kasler and T. Berger in the exhibition catalogue Tomb Treasures from China, The Buried Ancient Xi’an, San Francisco, 1994, p. 76, no. 58. A third related bronze ‘five peaks’ mirror, but much larger (18 ½ in.) than the present example, is preserved at the Horyuji Temple in Nara, Japan. See Great Museums of the World, National Museum, Tokyo, Milan, 1968, p. 30. While there is some debate amongst scholars as to whether the Horyuji mirror is in fact Chinese or Japanese, it has been in the temple since the 8th century and is now listed as a National Treasure of Japan.
The depiction of the ‘five peaks’ landscape on this mirror is exceedingly rare, and only two other examples appear to have been published. One (24 cm.) is in the Seattle Art Museum, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, illustrated by M. Knight in “Bronze in Chinese Culture from the Shang to the Tang Dynasty,” Orientations, August 1994, pp. 25-34, fig. 16. Also, see, the example (18 cm.) in the Shaanxi Historical Museum, illustrated by J. Kasler and T. Berger in the exhibition catalogue Tomb Treasures from China, The Buried Ancient Xi’an, San Francisco, 1994, p. 76, no. 58. A third related bronze ‘five peaks’ mirror, but much larger (18 ½ in.) than the present example, is preserved at the Horyuji Temple in Nara, Japan. See Great Museums of the World, National Museum, Tokyo, Milan, 1968, p. 30. While there is some debate amongst scholars as to whether the Horyuji mirror is in fact Chinese or Japanese, it has been in the temple since the 8th century and is now listed as a National Treasure of Japan.