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The mirror features a pair of dragons poised to seize flaming pearls. Blossoms like lotus and chrysanthemum emerge among the dragons. Surrounding the central knob of the mirror is a square enclosing the characters "至元四年 (Fourth Year of Zhiyuan, 1338)." The square also encompasses a barely legible engraving which identifies the workshop in today’s Shanxi province: "White bronze mirror cast under the supervision of retainers from the house of Ma Gouyu in the prefecture of Hezhong."

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
efa50cee781cc865
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
159203
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "159203",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Mirror with Twin Dragons and Lotus Blossoms",
    "description": "The mirror features a pair of dragons poised to seize flaming pearls. Blossoms like lotus and chrysanthemum emerge among the dragons. Surrounding the central knob of the mirror is a square enclosing the characters \"至元四年 (Fourth Year of Zhiyuan, 1338).\" The square also encompasses a barely legible engraving which identifies the workshop in today’s Shanxi province: \"White bronze mirror cast under the supervision of retainers from the house of Ma Gouyu in the prefecture of Hezhong.\"",
    "date": "1338",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.388",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60780973"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Metalwork"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.388/1995.388_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.388/1995.388_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.388/1995.388_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 23.4 cm (9 3/16 in.); Overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); Rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "China, Shanxi province, Hezhong, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)"
    ],
    "accession": "1995.388"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "159203",
    "label": "Mirror with Twin Dragons and Lotus Blossoms",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "159203",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Mirror with Twin Dragons and Lotus Blossoms",
    "description": "The mirror features a pair of dragons poised to seize flaming pearls. Blossoms like lotus and chrysanthemum emerge among the dragons. Surrounding the central knob of the mirror is a square enclosing the characters \"至元四年 (Fourth Year of Zhiyuan, 1338).\" The square also encompasses a barely legible engraving which identifies the workshop in today’s Shanxi province: \"White bronze mirror cast under the supervision of retainers from the house of Ma Gouyu in the prefecture of Hezhong.\"",
    "date": "1338",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.388",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60780973"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Metalwork"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.388/1995.388_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.388/1995.388_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.388/1995.388_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 23.4 cm (9 3/16 in.); Overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); Rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "China, Shanxi province, Hezhong, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)"
    ],
    "accession": "1995.388"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "bronze",
    "tombstone": "Mirror with Twin Dragons and Lotus Blossoms (雙龍荷花鏡), 1338. China, Shanxi province, Hezhong, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Bronze; diameter: 23.4 cm (9 3/16 in.); overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1995.388",
    "titleInOriginalLanguage": "雙龍荷花鏡",
    "collection": "China - Yuan Dynasty",
    "inscriptions": [
        {
            "inscription": "河中府馬溝玉家自家門人監造白銅鏡",
            "inscription_translation": "White mirror cast under the supervision of retainers from the house of Ma Gouyu in the prefecture of Hezhong."
        },
        {
            "inscription": "至元四年",
            "inscription_translation": "Fourth Year of Zhiyuan"
        }
    ],
    "didYouKnow": "This intricate mirror was donated in honor of Sherman Lee, the museum's longest tenured director.",
    "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. 87, pp. 92, 109, 125"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.388",
    "creditline": "Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 08:15:04.092000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.388/1995.388_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 159203,
    "dept": "Chinese Art",
    "coll": "China - Yuan Dynasty",
    "med": "bronze",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
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    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.388/1995.388_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "efa50cee781cc865"
}