A square bronze mirror with trigrams and directional animal decoration. Tang dynasty. Photo Sotheby's

framed with a deep rim, the 'Eight Trigrams' surrounding four celestial emblems representing the four cardinal directions; the dragon of the east, the tiger of the west, the bird of the south and the snake-entwined tortoise of the north, the central knob formed by a large tortoise, the patina silvery with green and blue encrustation. Length 6 3/4 in., 16.8 cm. Estimate 10,000-15,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.
Private European Collection, acquired in the 1980s.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 20 mars 2012