TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

A slightly smaller Tang bronze octafoil mirror, cast with a phoenix-and-dragon design and a comparable border pattern featuring flying ducks carrying silk cords in their beaks, is illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Bronze Mirrors in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, p. 212, pl. 119. The author notes that the silk cords (shou) held by the ducks symbolize the traditional auspicious wish feng guan jin jue (“rapid promotion to a higher rank”). They may also be understood as a punning reference to longevity, since shou, meaning ‘silk cord,’ is pronounced the same as shou, meaning ‘long life’. The tortoise that forms the central knop likewise conveys wishes for longevity, while the paired male and female Mandarin ducks symbolize marital fidelity and a harmonious marriage.