Harvard Art Museums > 1943.52.145: Circular Mirror with Decoration of Five "Shan" Ideographs Forming an Assymetrical Star around Five Small Petals, All against a Patterned Ground Mirrors Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Circular Mirror with Decoration of Five "Shan" Ideographs Forming an Assymetrical Star around Five Small Petals, All against a Patterned Ground , 1943.52.145,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/204307. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text Like their Shang predecessors, the Zhou produced sets of bronze ritual vessels for use in state rites and burial in tombs. In style, form, and function, the earliest bronze vessels from the Western Zhou period were virtually indistinguishable from those made by the Shang, for the Zhou sought to legitimize their ascension over their defeated rivals by closely replicating the tangible symbols of Shang power. Before long, however, traditional Shang decorative motifs such as the taotie animal mask began to evolve, and new forms emerged, such as the confronting dragons on the inscribed gui food vessel (far right) or the elephants on the covered you wine vessel (near left) displayed here. Inscriptions on these objects expanded, from single clan marks to longer memorializing inscriptions, signaling a shift in the function of bronze vessels from purely sacred objects belonging to powerful Shang clan members, to status symbols commemorating the accomplishments of Zhou kings and nobles. Identification and Creation Object Number 1943.52.145 Title Circular Mirror with Decoration of Five "Shan" Ideographs Forming an Assymetrical Star around Five Small Petals, All against a Patterned Ground Classification Mirrors Work Type mirror Date 5th-3rd century BCE Places Creation Place: East Asia, China Period Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 475-221 BCE Culture Chinese Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/204307 Location Location Level 1, Room 1600, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Bronze Age to the Golden Age View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Cast bronze Dimensions Diam. 17.8 x Thickness 0.9 cm (7 x 3/8 in.) Weight 690 g Provenance Recorded Ownership History [Yamanaka & Co., New York, March 1, 1935] sold; to Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (1935-1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop Accession Year 1943 Object Number 1943.52.145 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS. The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Publication History Jaime Jouris, "Chinese Black Bronze Mirrors: A Preliminary Examination" (thesis (certificate in conservation), Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, May 1991), Unpublished, passim Exhibition History 32Q: 1600 Early China II, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050 Subjects and Contexts Google Art Project Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
