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Source Description
This extremely rare <em>pingtuo </em>mirror is coated with a lacquer base inlaid with paper-thin sheets of silver and gold. The decorative patterns, especially the floral arabesques and the phoenixes and birds holding branches in their mouths, have a pronounced Persian and Central Asian flavor. Luxury items like this had been used by the Tang emperor as diplomatic gifts. A similar example from the Japanese imperial collection of Emperor Shōmu was donated by Empress Kōmyō in 756 to the Shōsō-in repository of the Tōdai-ji Temple, Nara, Japan.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
147576
label
Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
147576
contentType
object
title
Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays
description
This extremely rare <em>pingtuo </em>mirror is coated with a lacquer base inlaid with paper-thin sheets of silver and gold. The decorative patterns, especially the floral arabesques and the phoenixes and birds holding branches in their mouths, have a pronounced Persian and Central Asian flavor. Luxury items like this had been used by the Tang emperor as diplomatic gifts. A similar example from the Japanese imperial collection of Emperor Shōmu was donated by Empress Kōmyō in 756 to the Shōsō-in repository of the Tōdai-ji Temple, Nara, Japan.
date
700s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60758209
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 19.2 cm (7 9/16 in.)
cul
China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
accession
1973.74
Source extras
tec
bronze with silver and gold inlaid lacquer
tombstone
Mirror with Phoenixes, Birds, Butterflies, and Floral Sprays (金銀平脫花鳥鏡), 700s. China, Tang dynasty (618-907). Bronze with silver and gold inlaid lacquer; diameter: 19.2 cm (7 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1973.74
titleInOriginalLanguage
金銀平脫花鳥鏡
collection
China - Tang Dynasty
didYouKnow
Mirrors like this have a polished side for viewing and a decorated side with a central knob for lifting.
citations
citation
"The Year in Review for 1973." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 61, no. 2 (1974): 31-78.
page_number
Mentioned: no. 185, pp. 31 and 79; Reproduced: no. 185, p. 65
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 333
citation
Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. <em>Masterworks of Asian Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998.
page_number
Reproduced: pp. 42-43
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: fig. 1, p. 1
citation
Watt, James C. Y., and Prudence Oliver Harper. <em>China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.
page_number
Reproduced: cat. no. 217, p. 322
citation
Yen, Chuan-Ying. "The Decorative Motifs on Tang Dynasty Mirrors." <em>Cleveland Studies in the History of Art</em> 9 (2005): 1-10.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 5, fig. 8
citation
Chung, Anita. "A Connoisseur's Eye, A Scholar's Mind: The Legacy of Sherman Lee." <em>Orientations </em>vol. 40, no. 5 (2009).
page_number
Reproduced: p. 30, fig. 4
creditline
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:34:19.766000
sourceId
147576
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Tang Dynasty
med
bronze with silver and gold inlaid lacquer
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
8c0b6a02c8b52cf0