The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Mirror with Four Spirits

581–618

China, Sui dynasty

(581-618)
bronze
Diameter: 19.8 cm (7 13/16 in.); Overall: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); Rim: 0.7 cm (1/4 in.)
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee 1995.339
Location: Not on view

Description

Inscription: The immortal peaks rise as twins. The wise river now has a rival. Morning flowers are made bright and charming. At night, its light reflects the moon. The dragon coils around the jade disc. A pair of fabulous birds dance in harmony. It is said the Renshou era Was when the war began to end.
  • ?–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: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 49, pp. 61–62, 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: p. 30, fig. 4 www.jstor.org
    Moor, Bilha. Illustrated Ottoman Cosmographies, c. 1550-1700: The World through Muslim Eyes. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd, 2025.
  • 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 Spirits|url=false|author=|year=581–618|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.339