BRONZE OCTAFOIL MIRROR.

CHINA.

TANG DYNASTY.

618 – 907 AD.

D. 11.5 CMS, 4 ˝ INS. .

An octafoil mirror decorated with a pair of Mandarin ducks and a pair of swans surrounding a central knob in the form of a crouching animal, the outer rim raised and border decorated with floral sprays.

The silvery colour is due to a high tin content in the bronze.

For a comparable mirror, see fig. 68, page 75 in Chou Ju-Hsi, Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. See also fig. 59, A. Soper, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Bronzes, Rome, 1966.

PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.