The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 29, 2023

Lobed Mirror with a Tortoise Knob, Musician, and Phoenix

真子飛霜葵花鏡

late 700s

China, Tang dynasty

(618-907)

Bronze

Diameter: 21.6 cm (8 1/2 in.); Overall: 1.2 cm (1/2 in.); Rim: 0.6 cm (1/4 in.)

Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee 1995.369

Location

003 Special Exhibition Hall

Fun Fact

The imagery of this mirror includes a tiny turtle knob accompanied by a musician and phoenix.

Description

The inscription on this mirror states it was one of a pair made of metals from the south, and placed in a jade box, perhaps alluding to a wedding gift. The meaning of its design is not entirely known, but may refer to the Daoist immortal Hou Jin, who played the qin (stringed instrument), understood the language of birds, and could make predictions based on the reflections on water. The motifs of the phoenix, the pond, and the qin may all refer to the quest for immortality.

Inscriptions

Inscription

鳳凰雙鏡南金裝。陰陽各為配，日月恒相會。白玉芙蓉匣，翠羽瓊瑤帶。同心人，心相親，照心照膽保千春。

Inscription Translation

A mirror with paired phoenixes is cast from metals from the South. The yin and yang are made to match; The sun and moon meet with constancy. A white jade box with peony decor Is mated with a lustrous tassel of kingfisher feathers. Those of the same heart beat are drawn close. Whatever the mirror will reveal: be they hearts or gall; It will surely protect you for a thousand springs.

Provenance
?–1995
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. 70, pp. 76-77, 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. 56, fig. 12 www.jstor.org
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).

China's Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta (Jiangnan). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.369