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Source Description
Around the mirror’s central knob, there are six floral designs set within circles, separated by candelabra-like dividers. These flower designs later became known as "baoxiang hua 寶相花" or "flowers of precious appearance", which often remind people of Buddhist connections. The design also includes a ribbon of inscription, praising the mirror’s clarity and celebrating the end of a war.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159152
label
Mirror with Six Circular Flowers
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159152
contentType
object
title
Mirror with Six Circular Flowers
description
Around the mirror’s central knob, there are six floral designs set within circles, separated by candelabra-like dividers. These flower designs later became known as "baoxiang hua 寶相花" or "flowers of precious appearance", which often remind people of Buddhist connections. The design also includes a ribbon of inscription, praising the mirror’s clarity and celebrating the end of a war.
date
600s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60763253
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 16.6 cm (6 9/16 in.); Overall: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); Rim: 0.9 cm (3/8 in.)
cul
China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
accession
1995.341
Source extras
tec
bronze
tombstone
Mirror with Six Circular Flowers (寶相花鏡), 600s. China, Tang dynasty (618-907). Bronze; diameter: 16.6 cm (6 9/16 in.); overall: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); rim: 0.9 cm (3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1995.341
titleInOriginalLanguage
寶相花鏡
collection
China - Tang Dynasty
inscriptions
inscription
【】【】【】膽，知幽察微。珠慚朗潤，
月謝光輝。【】兵既弭，福慶斯歸。
inscription_translation
[This mirror can unveil one's] gall.
It can fathom the hidden and the subtle.
Its clarity and lustre put the pearl to shame,
And the moon to pale.
[Now] that the war has ended,
Let's celebrate the rising fortune at the wake.
didYouKnow
This mirror was made to commemorate the end of a war.
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. 57, pp. 67, 108, 120
citation
Chou, Ju-hsi, and Claudia Brown. <em>Clarity and Luster: New Light on Bronze Mirrors in Tang and Post-Tang Dynasty China, 600-1300 : Papers from a Symposium on the Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors at the Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 2
creditline
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:14:40.351000
sourceId
159152
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Tang Dynasty
med
bronze
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
2d2520b67e3187df