The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Mirror with Four Running Animals

early 600s

China, Tang dynasty

(618–907)
bronze
Diameter: 9.6 cm (3 3/4 in.); Overall: 0.9 cm (3/8 in.); Rim: 0.7 cm (1/4 in.)
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee 1995.338
Location: Not on view

Description

Inscription: I received a gift: the mirror of the King of Qin. For this, I would have paid willingly a thousand taels of silver. In no way would I use it to unveil your hidden desires. Verily, I only wish to lay bare my own heart.
  • ?–1995
    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, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 50, pp. 62–63, 108, 120
    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: pp. 31–32, fig. 6 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 Four Running Animals|url=false|author=|year=early 600s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.338