The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 27, 2026

A circular bronze mirror, aged with green oxidation, features a central raised dome and four smaller knobs. Between the knobs, detailed carvings depict robed figures, a tiger on the left, and a dragon on the right. Fine, repeating zigzag and geometric patterns fill multiple concentric bands that radiate toward the rim. This dark metallic surface is textured with intricate lines, while the wide border consists of layered, sharp geometric motifs.

Mirror with Four Nipples, Immortals, Dragon and Tiger

c. 125–220 CE

China, probably Zhejiang province, Eastern Han dynasty

(25–220 CE)
bronze
Diameter: 20.9 cm (8 1/4 in.)
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 1989.102
Location: Not on view
  • ?–1989
    (Yoshiyuki Hosomi, Osaka, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1989–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review: Selections 1989.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 77, no. 2, 1990, pp. 38–78. Mentioned: p. 78, no. 222; Reproduced: p. 42 www.jstor.org
    Wilson, J. Keith. "Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 8 (October 1990): 286–323. Reproduced: cat. no. 28, p. 319 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 15 archive.org
    Wilson, J. Keith, and Anne E. Wardwell. "New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 8 (1994): 270–347. Reproduced: p. 310; Mentioned: pp. 310–312, 347 www.jstor.org
  • Asian Autumn: New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 18-December 31, 1994).
    Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 24-November 25, 1990).
    The Year in Review for 1989. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 6-April 15, 1990).
  • {{cite web|title=Mirror with Four Nipples, Immortals, Dragon and Tiger|url=false|author=|year=c. 125–220 CE|access-date=27 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.102