Ask the Scholar

{
    "localId": "159152",
    "label": "Mirror with Six Circular Flowers",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}

{
    "id": "159152",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Mirror with Six Circular Flowers",
    "description": "Around the mirror’s central knob, there are six floral designs set within circles, separated by candelabra-like dividers. These flower designs later became known as \"baoxiang hua 寶相花\" or \"flowers of precious appearance\", which often remind people of Buddhist connections. The design also includes a ribbon of inscription, praising the mirror’s clarity and celebrating the end of a war.",
    "date": "600s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.341",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60763253"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Metalwork"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.341/1995.341_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.341/1995.341_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.341/1995.341_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 16.6 cm (6 9/16 in.); Overall: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); Rim: 0.9 cm (3/8 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "China, Tang dynasty (618-907)"
    ],
    "accession": "1995.341"
}

{
    "tec": "bronze",
    "tombstone": "Mirror with Six Circular Flowers (寶相花鏡), 600s. China, Tang dynasty (618-907). Bronze; diameter: 16.6 cm (6 9/16 in.); overall: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); rim: 0.9 cm (3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1995.341",
    "titleInOriginalLanguage": "寶相花鏡",
    "collection": "China - Tang Dynasty",
    "inscriptions": [
        {
            "inscription": "【】【】【】膽，知幽察微。珠慚朗潤，\n月謝光輝。【】兵既弭，福慶斯歸。",
            "inscription_translation": "[This mirror can unveil one's] gall.\nIt can fathom the hidden and the subtle.\nIts clarity and lustre put the pearl to shame,\nAnd the moon to pale.\n[Now] that the war has ended,\nLet's celebrate the rising fortune at the wake."
        }
    ],
    "didYouKnow": "This mirror was made to commemorate the end of a war.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Chou, Ju-hsi. <em>Circles of reflection: the Carter collection of Chinese bronze mirrors</em>. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: cat. no. 57, pp. 67, 108, 120"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Chou, Ju-hsi, and Claudia Brown. <em>Clarity and Luster: New Light on Bronze Mirrors in Tang and Post-Tang Dynasty China, 600-1300 : Papers from a Symposium on the Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors at the Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: P. 2",
            "url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/20079750"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.341",
    "creditline": "Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 08:14:40.351000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.341/1995.341_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 159152,
    "dept": "Chinese Art",
    "coll": "China - Tang Dynasty",
    "med": "bronze",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}

{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.341/1995.341_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "2d2520b67e3187df"
}