Collection record · Everyday wonders
Octafoil Mirror with Lunar Palace
The collection record classifies this work as metalwork. It is dated early 1100s–mid-1200s. Recorded culture or place: China, Jin dynasty (1115–1234).
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Octafoil Mirror with Lunar Palace
- Date
- early 1100s–mid-1200s
- Culture / origin
- China, Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
- Materials and technique
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 21.3 cm (8 3/8 in.); Overall: 0.9 cm (3/8 in.); Rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1995.375
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Bronze mirrors typically have one polished and one decorated side and were used in tombs for ritual purpose or served as disks for reflection. This mirror depicts the imagined scene of the moon in Chinese mythology. Legend says that the goddess Chang E consumed the elixir of immortality that she stole from her husband, the archer Yi, and flew to the moon. Chang E’s palace, the Broad Cold Palace (Guanghan gong) on the left side of the composition, is juxtaposed with a tall pine tree symbolizing longevity.
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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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