Location

239 Chinese Ceramics and Metalwork

Fun Fact

The patina of this mirror is known as <em>heiqigu</em> (literally, “black lacquer antique”).

Description

Cast in high-tin and low-lead bronze by the lost wax method, this mirror has a dark and lustrous patina known as heiqigu (literally, “black lacquer antique”). It bears a design of a coiling dragon among trailing clouds. With a small, elongated head connecting to an S-curve of the neck that is as sinuous as the body and tail, the dragon of the Tang period is unique.

Provenance

Thomas and Martha Carter, Madison, WI, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1995-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Chou, Ju-hsi. Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Reproduced: cat. no. 72, pp. 78, 109, 123

Wang, Eugene Y. "Mirror, Moon, and Memory in Eighth-Century China: From Dragon Pond to Lunar Palace." Cleveland Studies in the History of Art 9 (2005): 42-67. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 43, fig. 2 www.jstor.org

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. Accumulating Culture: The Collections of Emperor Huizong. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008. Reproduced: p. 194, fig. 6.33

Quette, Béatrice. Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. New York: Bard Graduate Center, 2011. Reproduced: p. 132, fig. 7.3

Exhibition history

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 Gallery, New York, NY (February 6-June 2, 2002); Elvehjem Museum of Art, Madison, WI (December 20, 2003-February 29, 2004).

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Mirror with a Coiling Dragon

盤龍鏡

China, Tang dynasty

Location

Fun Fact

Description