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Source Description
This exceptionally large bronze mirror features magnificently long-tailed phoenixes with cloud scrolls, motifs that can also be seen on the silk boots nearby. While the mirror, according to its inscription <em>Zhang Zhigao from Jinling</em> (<em>Nanjing</em>) was made in southeast China, the boots were made in the northern part of China then occupied by the Khitan people. The inscription is placed to the right of the mirror’s central knob. Mirrors typically have one polished and one decorated side and were used in part in tombs for ritual purpose or served as disks for reflection.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159204
label
Mirror with a Pair of Phoenixes
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159204
contentType
object
title
Mirror with a Pair of Phoenixes
description
This exceptionally large bronze mirror features magnificently long-tailed phoenixes with cloud scrolls, motifs that can also be seen on the silk boots nearby. While the mirror, according to its inscription <em>Zhang Zhigao from Jinling</em> (<em>Nanjing</em>) was made in southeast China, the boots were made in the northern part of China then occupied by the Khitan people. The inscription is placed to the right of the mirror’s central knob. Mirrors typically have one polished and one decorated side and were used in part in tombs for ritual purpose or served as disks for reflection.
date
1100s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79978466
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 35.1 cm (13 13/16 in.); Overall: 1.3 cm (1/2 in.); Rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.)
cul
China, Song dynasty (960–1279)
accession
1995.389
Source extras
tec
bronze
tombstone
Mirror with a Pair of Phoenixes (雙鳳鏡), 1100s. China, Song dynasty (960–1279). Bronze; diameter: 35.1 cm (13 13/16 in.); overall: 1.3 cm (1/2 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, 1995.389
titleInOriginalLanguage
雙鳳鏡
collection
China - Song Dynasty
inscriptions
inscription
Zhang Zigao from Jinling
inscription_translation
The inscription is to the right of the mirror’s central knob.
sortorder
1
didYouKnow
A union of male and female birds, the phoenix often symbolizes the yin and yang of Chinese philosophy, which equates to universal balance and harmony.
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. 79, pp. 84, 109–110, 125
citation
Spee, Clarissa von. "From the SIlk Road to the Imperial Court: Chinese Textiles in the Cleveland Museum of Art." <em>Arts of Asia</em> 48, no. 3 (May-June 2018): 50–56.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 52, fig. 3
creditline
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:15:04.110000
sourceId
159204
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Song Dynasty
med
bronze
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
2f0bf6c7e5be3f8a