Collection record · Everyday wonders
Mirror with a Pair of Phoenixes
The collection record classifies this work as metalwork. It is dated 1100s. Recorded culture or place: China, Song dynasty (960–1279).
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Mirror with a Pair of Phoenixes
- Date
- 1100s
- Culture / origin
- China, Song dynasty (960–1279)
- Materials and technique
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 35.1 cm (13 13/16 in.); Overall: 1.3 cm (1/2 in.); Rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1995.389
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
This exceptionally large bronze mirror features magnificently long-tailed phoenixes with cloud scrolls, motifs that can also be seen on the silk boots nearby. While the mirror, according to its inscription Zhang Zhigao from Jinling (Nanjing) was made in southeast China, the boots were made in the northern part of China then occupied by the Khitan people. The inscription is placed to the right of the mirror’s central knob. Mirrors typically have one polished and one decorated side and were used in part in tombs for ritual purpose or served as disks for reflection.
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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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