Gilt Gold & Bronze Mirror

 

Gilt Gold on Bronze
Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)
Diameter: 9 in.

 

This gilt bronze mirror is a rare early example of fine craftsmanship in bronze casting.  An intricate design of the animals of the oriental zodiac with calligraphy curves around the border. This pattern of auspicious subject matter was a popular motif during the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin (597-649 AD), the second emperor of the Tang dynasty (618-907), is recorded to have said, “by using a mirror you may see to adjust your cap; by using antiquity as a mirror, you may learn to foresee the rise and fall of Empires." There is much detail and symbolism devoted to this mirror’s auspicious decoration.

 

An inscription consisting of thirty-two characters align in a circle close to the edge of the mirror. The small dot between the first and last character indicates where the poem starts and ends. Following is the Chinese and English translation of the inscription.

Xianshan bing zhao
Zhishui die ming

[The Mirrors’] glow is like the holy mountains,

Its’ fame is like waters of wisdom;

Hua wu feng cai

Zhouye liuming

Flowers dance abundantly blooming,

Radiance flows day and night.

Long pan wurui

Luan wu shaungqing

The dragon coils among the Five Jades,

The Phoenixes dance like two lovers;

Chuan shan yishou

Shiyan ming bing

Shifting mountains and increasing longevity,

The times of enlightenment and joy are at hand.

 

In our opinion, the fine casting, attention to detail and auspicious subject matter make this a significant cultural object of the Tang Dynasty.

 

Reference Number 2497

Ex Collection: Alan & Simone Hartman, New York

 

Published: Collecting Chinese Art. Sam Bernstein. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000. Page 54, plate 57.

 

For another example of a bronze mirror see Ancient Chinese Bronze Art. W. Thomas Chase. New York: China Institute, 1991. Plate VII.

 

See also:

Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes. Jessica Rawson and Emma Bunker. Hong Kong: Oriental Ceramic Society, 1990. Page 252, plate 172.

A collection of significant bronze mirrors is illustrated in the Catalogue of Special Exhibition of Bronze Mirrors in the National Palace Museum. Chu Jen-hsing, trans. Kenneth Ganza and Cary Y. Liu. Taipei: National Palace Museum, 1986. Pages 187-211.

See further illustrations of bronze mirrors in Ancient Chinese Bronze Art. W. Thomas Chase. New York: China Institute, 1991.

 

 


To inquire about this work of art, contact us at 415.421.3434 or email at sbernsteinjade@aol.com