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Source Description
This mirror depicts Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West, and her husband, Dongwanggong, King Father of the East, surrounded by mythical figures and animals. One of the earliest and most powerful goddesses in the Daoist pantheon, Xiwangmu can be identified by her U-shaped crown. Legend says that the two deities meet once a year representing the meeting of yin and yang, the two forces that constitute the universe. This mirror shows a band of 14 squares around the center containing a long inscription.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
151373
label
Mirror with Xiwangmu
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
151373
contentType
object
title
Mirror with Xiwangmu
description
This mirror depicts Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West, and her husband, Dongwanggong, King Father of the East, surrounded by mythical figures and animals. One of the earliest and most powerful goddesses in the Daoist pantheon, Xiwangmu can be identified by her U-shaped crown. Legend says that the two deities meet once a year representing the meeting of yin and yang, the two forces that constitute the universe. This mirror shows a band of 14 squares around the center containing a long inscription.
date
c. 317–400 CE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79934780
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 18.5 cm (7 5/16 in.)
cul
China, Six Dynasties period (220–589 CE)
accession
1983.213
Source extras
tec
bronze
tombstone
Mirror with Xiwangmu (西王母鏡), c. 317–400 CE. China, Six Dynasties period (220–589 CE). Bronze; diameter: 18.5 cm (7 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 1983.213
titleInOriginalLanguage
西王母鏡
collection
China - Southern Dynasties
inscriptions
inscription_translation
‘I have made this bright mirror,/
Secluded, I have refined the three shang (metals)./
I have matched and depicted the myriad limits,/
I have followed proper precedents and the Dao./
I respectfully present it to the worthy and virtuous,/
I have engraved and carved without end./
In all affairs, may the Yang force dominate,/
May your happiness and prosperity be extended and bright./
May you have wealth, nobility, peace, and happiness,/
May your sons and grandsons be numerous and prosperous …/
May the worthy one be lofty and illustrious./
May the lord become a duke or a minister,/
May the master’s destiny be long.’
inscription_remark
Inscription in a band of fourteen squares each with four characters.
citations
citation
Chinese Art Society of America, and Elizabeth Lyons. <em>An Exhibition of Chinese Mirrors</em>. New York: [The Society], 1951.
citation
Bulling, Anneliese Gutkind. <em>The Decoration of Mirrors of the Han Period: A Chronology</em>. Ascona: Artibus Asiae, 1960.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 95–96 and pl. 79
citation
Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York. <em>Important Chinese Works of Art: The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Bull</em>. 6 December 1983.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: Lot 8
citation
Turner, Evan H. "Year in Review for 1983." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 71, no. 2 (1984): 38–79.
page_number
Mentioned: no. 258, p. 79; Reproduced: no. 258, p. 62
citation
Little, Stephen. <em>Realm of the Immortals: Daoism in the Arts of China: the Cleveland Museum of Art, February 10-April 10, 1988</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1988.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 12
citation
Wilson, J. Keith, and Anne E. Wardwell. "New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 81, no. 8 (October 1994): 270–347.
page_number
cat. no. 29, p. 347
creditline
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:49:08.760000
sourceId
151373
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Southern Dynasties
med
bronze
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
541d879c51767c0d