Lobed Mirror with Heaven and Earth between the Paired Phoenixes
Details
- Author / creator
- China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
- Object type
- Metalwork
- Date or period
- mid to late 700s
- Dimensions summary
- Diameter: 22.5 cm; Overall: 1.1 cm; Rim: 0.7 cm
- Maker or workshop
- China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
- Period / style
- Tang dynasty period
- Place of origin
- China
- Acquisition method
- Donation
- Credit line
- Gift of Dame Margaret Fellowes, 1995
- Image rights
- Public domain (CC0)
About this object
This mirror bears an important inscription as well as symbolic imagery of the Eight Trigrams and Heaven and Earth to express the ancient Chinese cosmological ideas. The inscription reads: Circle above and square below: These are symbolic of heaven and earth. In the middle are the Eight Trigrams. Making clear [the forces of] yin and yang. Stars and constellations are well aligned; The sun and the moon are virtuous and bright. Circulating around [the earth] is water, Giving identity to the Four Great Rivers. Within are the mountain ranges, To signify the lordly heights.
Materials and technique
Bronze
Signature and marks
上圓下方，象于天地。 中列八填，備著陰陽。 辰星鎮定，日月貞明。 周流為水，以名四瀆。 內置連山，以旌王岳。 (“Circle above and square below: These are symbols of heaven and earth. In the middle are the Eight Trigrams, Making clear [the forces of] yin and yang. Stars and constellations are well aligned; The sun and the moon are virtuous and bright. Circulating around [the earth] is water, Giving identity to the Four Great Rivers. Within are the mountain ranges, To signify the lordly heights.”)
