Mirror with immortal and phoenix in a landscape
This mirror depicts an auspicious landscape. To the left, a gentleman wearing a crown sits on a leopard skin strumming a zither (qin) beside a bamboo grove. Before him is a low table set with implements. Opposite the gentleman, a phoenix is perched upon a rock. Between them is a pond ringed with ornamental rocks. A single lotus stalk rises from the middle of the pond, supporting a turtle—a symbol of longevity—on its leaf. A crane—another symbol of longevity—flies toward a pair of trees. In the distance, what may be the sun appears to be setting below cloud-wreathed distant mountains—suggestive of a western paradise.
Artwork Details
- 唐 真子飛霜故事鏡
- Title: Mirror with immortal and phoenix in a landscape
- Period: Tang dynasty (618–907)
- Date: late 8th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: Diam. 6 3/8 in. (16.2 cm)
- Classification: Mirrors
- Credit Line: Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2008
- Object Number: 2008.591
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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China
dated 524 (5th year of Zhengguang reign)
China (Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Central Asia)
8th century
India (Bihar)
early 9th century
Indonesia (Java)
second half of the 10th century
Pakistan (NW Frontier Province, probably Swat Valley)
9th century
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