A rare large bronze octafoil mirror, Tang dynasty (618-907). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Heavily cast and of linghua (water chestnut flower) shape, finely and crisply cast with a pair of phoenixes with knotted cords trailing upwards from their beaks as they stand atop lotus stems flanking the knob, above the knob is another lotus stem, its leaves supporting a pair of confronted ducks suspending a pendent flower, below the knob a pair of birds, possibly parakeets, stand atop lotus flowers while belt ties (shou) trail upwards from their beaks, all within a circular border, the barbed lobes of the outer border decorated with two birds with tassels trailing from their beaks, two pairs of geese, two stems of lotus leaves and two other leafy stems shown in opposing pairs, with silvery grey patina; 11¼ in. (28.7 cm.) across, 5/16 in. (.9 cm.) thick, box - 3126.6g. Estimate $40,000 - $60,000

唐 雙鳳紋菱花式銅鏡

Provenance: Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired from Alice Boney, Japan, 1960s

Notes: A very similar mirror of comparable large size (29.3 cm.) is illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 224-5, no. 74, where it is noted that this type of mirror was typical of mirrors cast at Yangzhou during the Tang dynasty, and that some were excavated at Xi'an, Shaanxi province and from Tang dynasty tombs at Jiangchengbao, Baoji city. Another (28.8 cm.) is illustrated by Ju-hsi Chou, Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000, p. 75, no. 68.

Mirrors of this type may have been used in a woman's boudoir or would have been presented as a marriage gift, and the symbolic motifs that decorate this large mirror reinforce this use. The pair of phoenixes represents a married couple, and the phoenix also symbolizes the qualities of virtue, duty, correct behavior, reliability and humanity, all ideal attributes for a wife. The knotted cords that trail behind their heads are symbols of longevity. The pair of mandarin ducks symbolize conjugal fidelity and represent the strong love of a married couple. The tassels held in the beaks of the parakeets represent shou, the decorative knot from a woman's belt, which once tied can only be undone by her husband. 

Christies. Luminous Perfection: Fine Chinese Mirrors from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, 22 March 2012, New York, Rockefeller Plaza