AN UNUSUAL BRONZE CIRCULAR MIRROR WITH DEITIES AND INSCRIPTION

EASTERN HAN DYNASTY, 2ND-3RD CENTURY

Details

AN UNUSUAL BRONZE CIRCULAR MIRROR WITH DEITIES AND INSCRIPTION
EASTERN HAN DYNASTY, 2ND-3RD CENTURY
The large knob encircled by a narrow 'egg and dart' border beyond which are four seated deities flanked by other creatures and alternating with large beasts grasping a scroll or bar in their jaws and incorporating small circular cells, all cast in high relief within a band of plain semi-circles alternating with rectangles enclosing a character, below an inscription and a band of scrolls on the rim, with lustrous black heiqigu patina
4 9/16 in. (11.6 cm.) diam., 1/8 in. (.4 cm.) thick, box
281.5g

Provenance

Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired in Hong Kong, 1989.

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Lot Essay

Unlike most mirrors of this type, this mirror has an inscription on the rim along with the scroll band, rather than the more usual band of racing animals and figures, such as the mirror of smaller size (14.1 cm.) illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 198-9, no. 62.

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