Collection record · Everyday wonders
Lobed Mirror with Heaven and Earth between the Paired Phoenixes
The collection record classifies this work as metalwork. It is dated mid to late 700s. Recorded culture or place: China, Tang dynasty (618-907).
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Lobed Mirror with Heaven and Earth between the Paired Phoenixes
- Date
- mid to late 700s
- Culture / origin
- China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
- Materials and technique
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.); Overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); Rim: 0.7 cm (1/4 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1995.351
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
This mirror bears an important inscription as well as symbolic imagery of the Eight Trigrams and Heaven and Earth to express the ancient Chinese cosmological ideas. The inscription reads: Circle above and square below: These are symbolic of heaven and earth. In the middle are the Eight Trigrams. Making clear [the forces of] yin and yang. Stars and constellations are well aligned; The sun and the moon are virtuous and bright. Circulating around [the earth] is water, Giving identity to the Four Great Rivers. Within are the mountain ranges, To signify the lordly heights.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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