Artwork Page for TLV Mirror with Multiple Nipples

Details / Information for TLV Mirror with Multiple Nipples

TLV Mirror with Multiple Nipples

多乳博局式鏡

9–23 CE

China, Xin dynasty

(9–23 CE)
Medium
bronze
Measurements
Diameter: 16.9 cm (6 5/8 in.); Overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); Rim: 0.5 cm (3/16 in.)
Weight: 635 g (1.4 lbs.)
Credit Line
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee 1995.298
Public Domain
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Location
241B Arts of Ancient China
Print
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Did You Know?

This mirror includes a poetic inscription that credits the immortals as protectors of the kingdom.

Description

The inscription in this mirror reads: A fine mirror it is, my making of it! I can show the ageless immortals up above. They wander over the earth and belittle the Four Oceans. They live as long as metal and stone, And are true protectors of our kingdom. These poetic lines suggest the reflective and magical qualities of the bronze mirror in the Chinese imagination. Besides reflecting the immortals, it illuminated the human soul so that it would be in tune with forces of yin and yang in Chinese cosmology.
A silvery-gray bronze mirror, speckled with green oxidation, features a central dome-shaped knob within a square frame. Straight T, L, and V shapes decorate the surface alongside beasts and small raised bumps. A ring of stylized characters encircles these motifs. The design expands into concentric bands: first, a ring of sharp triangles, then a wide outer border of repeating, rhythmic swirling lines that ripple around the mirror's edge.

TLV Mirror with Multiple Nipples

9–23 CE

China, Xin dynasty (9–23 CE)

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