AN UNUSUAL BRONZE CIRCULAR MIRROR WITH PHOENIXES

MID-LATE EASTERN HAN DYNASTY, 2ND-EARLY 3RD CENTURY

Details

AN UNUSUAL BRONZE CIRCULAR MIRROR WITH PHOENIXES
MID-LATE EASTERN HAN DYNASTY, 2ND-EARLY 3RD CENTURY
Flat-cast with an unusual overall design formed by four pairs of confronted phoenixes within an outer border of joined arcs filled with hooked scroll pattern and an inner quatrefoil border that surrounds four characters, changyi zisun (for longevity and continuing generations), and the central knob, with blackish-grey patina
4 1/16 in. (12.5 cm.) diam., 1/8 in. (.4 cm.) thick, box
279.8g

Provenance

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

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Lot Essay

A similar mirror of the same size is illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 204-5, no. 65, where it is mentioned that similar mirrors have been excavated at E'cheng, Hubei province. Another of slightly larger size (15.5 cm.) is illustrated by T. Nakano et al., Bronze Mirrors from Ancient China: Donald H. Graham Jr. Collection, 1994, pp. 162-3, no. 52. On both of these examples the joined arcs of the outer border are plain. See, also, the very similar mirror in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by He Lin, Copper Mirrors - 200 Things You Should Know, Beijing, 2007, p. 60, pl. 30. (Fig. 1)

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