Mirror with felines

Object Details

• Description

  Mirror. Surface: bright silvery patina with patches of green aerugo and earthy incrustation. Decoration: in relief, with additions of green and red color in central medallion. Inscription.

• Inscriptions

  36-character inscription, in Chinese:

  The simurgh startled as her reflection becomes visible; the sun's dazzling radiance opens up.

  Coiled (as it is), (I suspect a jade disk (pi) revolving; moon (like), it resembles a wheel returning.

  Coiled (as it is), (I suspect a jade disk (pi) revolving; moon (like), it resembles a wheel returning.

• Label

  The bronze has the bright silvery color associated with Sui and Tang mirrors. The inscription is a poem of thirty-six graphs, a rhymed riddle for which the answer is "mirror." It praises the mirror for its beauty, compares it to the moon, and refers to the legendary mirror of the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, which exposed unfaithful concubines. The content of the inscription shows the increase of secular subjects on mirrors of the Sui and Tang.

• Provenance

  1930

  Yamanaka and Company, New York 1930 [1]

  From 1930

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Yamanaka and Company, New York in 1930 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Object file, undated folder sheet. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Personal Luxuries in Early China (July 7, 1998 to January 3, 2016)

  Chinese Art (February 18, 1983 to April 1, 1987)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

  Chinese Bronze, Jade, Metalwork (March 1, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 14 and 15 (February 25, 1956 to March 1, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork and Painting, East Corridor (February 15, 1955 to August 26, 1955)

  Special Mirror Exhibition (November 16, 1954 to February 25, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1946 (May 7, 1946 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork, Pottery, and Painting (March 23, 1944 to May 2, 1946)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1944 (November 15, 1944 to May 6, 1946)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Metalwork, 1943 (October 4, 1943 to March 23, 1944)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)

  Untitled Exhibition, Shahnama and Chinese Art (March 24, 1930 to May 5, 1933)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Mirror

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  600s, 500s

• Name

  Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Bronze, Sui dynasty (581 - 618), Cats, Art, Inscriptions, Animals, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Mirrors