The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Mirror with Three Pairs of Bixie around a Loti-form Knob

mid-600s

China, Tang dynasty

(618-907)
bronze
Diameter: 17.6 cm (6 15/16 in.); Overall: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); Rim: 1.3 cm (1/2 in.)
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee 1995.335
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

A bixie is a fantastical hybrid creature that was believed to ward off evil spirits.

Description

The casting of this mirror is precise. The central knob is surrounded by 16 petals to assume the appearance of a lotus blossom. In the inner circle, the three pairs of bixie, mythological animals, are displayed in fuller relief and sense of organic coordination than animals in earlier Sui period mirrors, which are slender in proportion and lissome in appearance. The outer circle has a poetic inscription:

The spirit merges with the forms that are being wrought. The lustrous metal matches the exquisite craftsmanship. Like a pearl, it emerges from the container box—
A virtual moon suspended in the firmament. [It enables] the lady to draw her eyebrows And apply rouge to her face. Even those elegant windows and the embroidered curtains: Can all be reflected within.
  • ?–1995
    Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter, Madison, WI, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1995–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Chou, Ju-hsi. Circles of reflection: the Carter collection of Chinese bronze mirrors. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Reproduced: cat. no. 51, pp. 63, 107, 119
    Cahill, Suzanne E. "The Moon Stopping in the Void: Daoism and the LIterati Ideal in Mirrors of the Tang Dynasty." .Cleveland Studies in the History of Art 9 (2005): 24-41. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 33, fig. 8 www.jstor.org
  • 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 Three Pairs of Bixie around a Loti-form Knob|url=false|author=|year=mid-600s|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.335