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Source Description
This mirror in the shape of a flower represents two immortals crossing the ocean, surrounded by surging waves. The younger figure on the left wears two buns on his head; the elder one with a long beard is carrying a musical instrument, <em>sheng</em>. The scene may illustrate “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Ocean,” in which their supernatural power to walk on water is depicted. The two men here stand on their swords to travel on water. In Daoist and Buddhist thinking, swords are considered powerful, magical implements to exorcise demons and destroy evil spirits.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159192
label
Octafoil Mirror with Two Immortals Crossing the Ocean
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159192
contentType
object
title
Octafoil Mirror with Two Immortals Crossing the Ocean
description
This mirror in the shape of a flower represents two immortals crossing the ocean, surrounded by surging waves. The younger figure on the left wears two buns on his head; the elder one with a long beard is carrying a musical instrument, <em>sheng</em>. The scene may illustrate “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Ocean,” in which their supernatural power to walk on water is depicted. The two men here stand on their swords to travel on water. In Daoist and Buddhist thinking, swords are considered powerful, magical implements to exorcise demons and destroy evil spirits.
date
mid-900s–late 1200s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79978433
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 17.6 cm (6 15/16 in.); Overall: 1 cm (3/8 in.); Rim: 0.6 cm (1/4 in.)
cul
China, Song dynasty (960-1279)
accession
1995.378
Source extras
tec
bronze
tombstone
Octafoil Mirror with Two Immortals Crossing the Ocean (渡海二仙菱花鏡), mid-900s–late 1200s. China, Song dynasty (960-1279). Bronze; diameter: 17.6 cm (6 15/16 in.); overall: 1 cm (3/8 in.); rim: 0.6 cm (1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1995.378
titleInOriginalLanguage
渡海二仙菱花鏡
collection
China - Song Dynasty
inscriptions
inscription
Made by the famous Zhou Yuan.
sortorder
1
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
Mentioned: cat. no. 82, pp. 86–87, 109, 124; Reproduced: p. 86
creditline
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:14:59.730000
sourceId
159192
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Song Dynasty
med
bronze
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
f4e459233447005c