Lot 188. A bronze 'Sea Beasts and Grapes' mirror, Tang Dynasty. Diameter 5 in., 12.6 cm. Estimation 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's

cast in relief with a crouching sea beast knob encircled with grape vines and six further sea beasts, the outer field with birds and beasts among similar vine scrolls, below a band of floral designs around the rim, the silvery-gray patina with green and brown encrustation. 

Provenance: Old Japanese collection, circa 1980, by repute.

Exposition: Uragami Sokyu-do, Co., Ltd., Bronze Mirrors from Sui to Tang Dynasty, Tokyo, 10th November 2010, cat. no. 26.

Sotheby's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART. 18 MARS 2014 - 19 MARS 2014. NEW YORK - www.sothebys.com