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)
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
- 581-618
- Period
- Sui dynasty
- Accession Number
- F1930.37
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Mirror
- Medium
- Bronze
- Dimensions
- Diam x D: 19.3 x 1.5 cm (7 5/8 x 9/16 in)
- Origin
- China
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Topic
- casting
- metal
- bronze
- Sui dynasty (581 - 618)
- cat
- China
- Chinese Art
- Record ID
- fsg_F1930.37
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3379e0cac-e6e6-4a4b-a414-6c0055b966b3
