Harvard Art Museums > 2010.433: Circular Mirror with Four Bosses, Thread-Relief Decoration of Dragons, Birds, Tigers, and Other Animals, Quatrefoil, and Auspicious Inscription 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 Four Bosses, Thread-Relief Decoration of Dragons, Birds, Tigers, and Other Animals, Quatrefoil, and Auspicious Inscription , 2010.433,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Nov 15, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/315418. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2010.433 Title Circular Mirror with Four Bosses, Thread-Relief Decoration of Dragons, Birds, Tigers, and Other Animals, Quatrefoil, and Auspicious Inscription Classification Mirrors Work Type mirror Date 1st century BCE Places Creation Place: East Asia, China Period Han dynasty, Western Han period, 206 BCE-9 CE Culture Chinese Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/315418 Physical Descriptions Medium Cast bronze Dimensions Diam. 18.6 cm (7 5/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Edmund Lin (1928-2006; Professor, Harvard Medical School), Boston; by bequest to the Harvard Art Museum Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Edmund Chi Chien Lin Accession Year 2010 Object Number 2010.433 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions 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. Descriptions Description This circular mirror has a wide, flat outer rim embellished with a slightly sunken ring of chevron patterns in thread-relief down the center. This rim gives way to a beveled edge that sinks down to a lower field of decoration consisting of a narrow band of radiating lines; a circular band of animals in thread-relief; another narrow band of radiating lines; a band of medium width that is plain and undecorated; another band of radiating lines; and finally a quatrefoil with characters interspersed between each leaf. The four chracters between the leaves read "Chang Yi Zi Sun" (may your sons and grandsons appreciate this for a long time). The quatrefoil and chracters surround a hemispherical knob at the center. Within the circular band of animals in thread-relief, there are four tiny bosses that rise in relief; each boss is surrounded by a circle of linked arcs that form an eight-pointed star. In the patina on the reflecting surface, there are fabric pseudomorphs as well as actual remains of silk. Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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
