A gold sheet-decorated bronze mirror. Tang dynasty (618-907)
A gold sheet-decorated bronze mirror. Tang dynasty (618-907). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012
The back applied with a thin gold sheet pressed over the cast decoration of two pairs of mandarin ducks in flight between flower sprigs as they circle the knob, with further flower sprigs alternating with clouds in the outer border, the bronze mirror of silver-grey color: 4¾ in. (12.1 cm.) diam., ¼ in. (.5 cm.) thick, box 515.2g. Estimate $20,000 - $30,000
唐 貼金鴛鴦紋銅鏡
Provenance: Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired from Alice Boney, Japan, late 1960s.
Notes: Compare the larger mirror of this type (17.6 cm.) in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by He Lin in Copper Mirrors - 200 Things You Should Know, Beijing, 2007, no. 66. Mandarin ducks are thought to mate for life and therefore symbolize conjugal bliss.
Christie's. Luminous Perfection: Fine Chinese Mirrors from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, 22 March 2012, New York, Rockefeller Plaza