Skip to Main Content

Artwork Page for Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays

Details / Information for Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays

Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays

金銀平脫花鳥鏡

700s
(618-907)
bronze with silver and gold inlaid lacquer
Diameter: 19.2 cm (7 9/16 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1973.74
Location: 239 Chinese Ceramics and Metalwork
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Print

Did You Know?

Mirrors like this have a polished side for viewing and a decorated side with a central knob for lifting.

Description

This extremely rare pingtuo mirror is coated with a lacquer base inlaid with paper-thin sheets of silver and gold. The decorative patterns, especially the floral arabesques and the phoenixes and birds holding branches in their mouths, have a pronounced Persian and Central Asian flavor. Luxury items like this had been used by the Tang emperor as diplomatic gifts. A similar example from the Japanese imperial collection of Emperor Shōmu was donated by Empress Kōmyō in 756 to the Shōsō-in repository of the Tōdai-ji Temple, Nara, Japan.
A circular bronze disc painted with black and detailed with silver and gold designs. The designs cover the disc in a symmetrical pattern, with intricate silver paintings of phoenixes as well as gold and silver paintings of birds, butterflies, flowers, and plants.

Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays

700s

China, Tang dynasty (618-907)

See Also

Videos

Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays - Chinese language version

Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays

Visually Similar by AI

    CMA Store

    Qianlong Emperor and Consort Cosmetic Bag

    Colors of Kyoto: The Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio

    by Maezaki Shinya and Sinéad Vilbar, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelg...
    Colors of Kyoto: The Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio

    Chao Shao-an: Chinese Master Boxed Notecard Assortment

    After experiencing the fall of China’s last imperial dynasty, Chao Sha...
    Chao Shao-an: Chinese Master Boxed Notecard Assortment

    Japanese Decorative Designs Keepsake Boxed Notecards

    Timeless examples of Japanese artistry—the decorative designs featured...
    Japanese Decorative Designs Keepsake Boxed Notecards

    Contact us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.