The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Mirror with Twin Dragons and Lotus Blossoms

Mirror with Twin Dragons and Lotus Blossoms

1338
Diameter: 23.4 cm (9 3/16 in.); Overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); Rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.)

Did You Know?

This intricate mirror was donated in honor of Sherman Lee, the museum's longest tenured director.

Description

The mirror features a pair of dragons poised to seize flaming pearls. Blossoms like lotus and chrysanthemum emerge among the dragons. Surrounding the central knob of the mirror is a square enclosing the characters "至元四年 (Fourth Year of Zhiyuan, 1338)." The square also encompasses a barely legible engraving which identifies the workshop in today’s Shanxi province: "White bronze mirror cast under the supervision of retainers from the house of Ma Gouyu in the prefecture of Hezhong."
  • Thomas and Martha Carter, Madison, WI
  • Chou, Ju-hsi. Circles of reflection: the Carter collection of Chinese bronze mirrors. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Reproduced: cat. no. 87, pp. 92, 109, 125
  • Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17-November 26, 2000); China Institute Gallery, New York, NY (February 6-June 2, 2002); Elvehjem Museum of Art, Madison, WI (December 20, 2003-February 29, 2004).
  • {{cite web|title=Mirror with Twin Dragons and Lotus Blossoms|url=false|author=|year=1338|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.388