Mirror with Daoist deities

Mirror, patinated black with spots of green; the rim corroded. Decoration in high relief; dedicatory inscription of 44 characters.

Historical period(s)
Eastern Han dynasty, 202 CE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diam x D: 13.5 x 0.9 cm (5 5/16 x 3/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1936.4
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Mirror
Type

Mirror

Keywords
China, Daoism, Eastern Han dynasty (25 - 220), inscription
Provenance

From at least 1935 to 1936
C. T. Loo & Company, Paris and New York from at least May 16, 1935 [1]

From 1936
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on March 3, 1936 [2]

Notes:

[1] See "List of objects owned by C. T. Loo, New York and [sent to] the Gallery for examination," with annotation that the object was received from Paris on May 16, 1935, copy in object file.

[2] See C. T. Loo's invoice dated March 3, 1936, copy in object file. See also C. T. Loo's stockcard no. 85116, C. T. Loo & Frank Caro Archive, Musée Guimet, Paris, copy in object file.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

C.T. Loo & Company 1914-1948

Description

Mirror, patinated black with spots of green; the rim corroded. Decoration in high relief; dedicatory inscription of 44 characters.

Inscription(s)

The dedicatory inscription is inverse and reads as follows:

"I made this shining mirror. In secret I refined the Kung element (earth) and the three shang elements (metals).

All around I sculptured images; the Five Emperors, the Sovereign of Heaven.

Po Ya playing.......the lute, the Yellow Emperor dispelling malevolent influences,

The Red Bird, the Dark Warrior, the White tiger and the Blue Dragon.

Done in the 7th year of Chien An (A.D. 202). May your Lordship attain to high office."

Published References
  • Li Song. A History of Chinese Daoist Art. China. .
  • William Watson. The Art of Dynastic China. New York, 1981. ill. 287.
  • Sueji Umehara. Shina kodo seikwa [Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Europe and Asia]. 3 vols., Osaka. vol. 5: pl. 95b.
  • Smithsonian Institution. Report of the Secretary, 1935. Washington, 1935-1936. pl. 1.
  • Smithsonian Institution. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, 1935. Washington, 1935-1936. appendix 3, pl. 1.
  • New Orient Society of America. Oriental Art in America: Recent Accessions in American Museums. Chicago. pl. 33.
  • Memoires Historiques de Se-Ma Ts'ien. 5 vols., Paris, 1895-1905. pp. 15, 17-19.
  • Kenzo Tomioka. Kokyo no Kenkyu. Kyoto. p. 62, pls. 11, 32.
  • Suzanne Cahill. The Word Made Bronze: Inscriptions on Medieval Chinese Bronze Mirrors. vol. 39 New York and Honolulu, HI. p. 64.
  • Compiled by the staff of the Freer Gallery of Art. A Descriptive and Illustrative Catalogue of Chinese Bronzes: Acquired During the Administration of John Ellerton Lodge. Oriental Studies Series, no. 3 Washington, 1946. p. 74, pl. 39.
  • unknown title. no. 4 Stockholm. pp. 115-116, pl. 1, 31.
  • A. E. K. Cull, James K. Cull, W. Perceval Yetts. The Cull Chinese Bronzes. London. p. 120 ff.
  • Alexander Coburn Soper. Life Motion and the Sense of Space in Early Chinese Representational Art. vol. 30, no. 3 New York. pp. 170-173, fig. 2.
  • Arthur Pontynen. The Early Development of Taoist Art. Ann Arbor, 1985. p. 204.
  • James Legge. unknown title. vol. 27 Oxford. pp. 249-310.
  • Paul Pelliot. unknown title. Leiden. pp. 455-456.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
SI Usage Statement

Usage Conditions Apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Request Permission | Terms of Use