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Source Description
The inscription in this mirror reads: A fine mirror it is, my making of it! I can show the ageless immortals up above. They wander over the earth and belittle the Four Oceans. They live as long as metal and stone, And are true protectors of our kingdom. These poetic lines suggest the reflective and magical qualities of the bronze mirror in the Chinese imagination. Besides reflecting the immortals, it illuminated the human soul so that it would be in tune with forces of yin and yang in Chinese cosmology.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159102
label
TLV Mirror with Multiple Nipples
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159102
contentType
object
title
TLV Mirror with Multiple Nipples
description
The inscription in this mirror reads: A fine mirror it is, my making of it! I can show the ageless immortals up above. They wander over the earth and belittle the Four Oceans. They live as long as metal and stone, And are true protectors of our kingdom. These poetic lines suggest the reflective and magical qualities of the bronze mirror in the Chinese imagination. Besides reflecting the immortals, it illuminated the human soul so that it would be in tune with forces of yin and yang in Chinese cosmology.
date
9–23 CE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60755452
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 16.9 cm (6 5/8 in.); Overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); Rim: 0.5 cm (3/16 in.)
cul
China, Xin dynasty (9–23 CE)
accession
1995.298
Source extras
tec
bronze
tombstone
TLV Mirror with Multiple Nipples (多乳博局式鏡), 9–23 CE. China, Xin dynasty (9–23 CE). Bronze; diameter: 16.9 cm (6 5/8 in.); overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); rim: 0.5 cm (3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1995.298
titleInOriginalLanguage
多乳博局式鏡
collection
China - Han Dynasty
inscriptions
inscription
作佳鏡哉真大好，上有仙人不知老。
渴飲玉泉飢食棗，浮遊天下傲四海。
壽如金石為國保。
didYouKnow
This mirror includes a poetic inscription that credits the immortals as protectors of the kingdom.
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: p. 17, cat. no. 28
creditline
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:14:19.202000
sourceId
159102
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Han Dynasty
med
bronze
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
2b1d8520af6606f6