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Jun 5, 2009
Jun 5, 2009
Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays
Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays
金銀平脫花鳥鏡
700s
China, Tang dynasty
(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
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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.
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