The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 19, 2025
Mirror with Deities and Animals Surrounded by Rings of Squares and Semicircles
late 100s CE
(25–220 CE)
Diameter: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.); Overall: 1.3 cm (1/2 in.); Rim: 0.5 cm (3/16 in.)
Location: Not on view
Description
Inscription: I made this bright mirror, By refining three metals. It is fitting for immortals, distant from the worldlings, And for those who are in command of virtues and the Way. Here too we will find respect for the wise and the able. They can be engraved in infinite ways. Here is BoYa playing the music. A multitude of fortunes underscore the yang force. The mirror shines brightly on the world. May you live long as the metal and stone. May you reach the height of dukedom. Even this master be given to live a long life.- Thomas and Martha Carter, Madison, WI
- Chou, Ju-hsi. Circles of reflection: the Carter collection of Chinese bronze mirrors. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Reproduced: cat. no. 38, pp. 52-53, 107, 119
- Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17-November 26, 2000); China Institute in America, New York, NY (February 6-June 2, 2002); Elvehjem Museum of Art, Madison, WI (December 20, 2003-February 29, 2004).
- {{cite web|title=Mirror with Deities and Animals Surrounded by Rings of Squares and Semicircles|url=false|author=|year=late 100s CE|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.333