Bronze mirrors, Han dynasty & Tang dynasty at Bonhams, San Francisco, 29 june 2016

Lot 9182. A group of four early bronze mirrors, Han dynasty. Estimate USD 500 ~ 700. Sold for US$ 1,000 (€903). Photo: Bonhams.

Three with a wide, canted edge enclosing a small saw-tooth band under four abstract cloud patterns and emerging birds separated by raised bosses under a central pierced knob; the fourth larger mirror with a wide canted rim centered on a continuous arc design under a band of whorl patterns, all mirrors with varying degrees of patination. 4 3/4, 3 1/2, 3 and 3in (12.1, 8.8, 7.6 and 7.6cm) diameters

Provenance: a Northern California Estate

Notes: The mirrors in this lot have been in the United States since the late 1980s.

For related examples see Donald Graham, Bronze Mirrors of Ancient China, 1994, cat. nos. 38 and 51.

Lot 9161. A group of three early mirrors, Tang dynasty. Estimate USD 800 ~ 1,200. Sold for US$ 875 (€790).  Photo: Bonhams.

The first a white bronze mirror with thick outer eight petal-form rim cast with five open blossoms under a central knob; the second a small lion and grapevine mirror with a canted edge of vines suspending clusters of ripe grapes enclosing a plain band of further clusters and four lions cavorting around a raised finial; the third a plain small mirror with highly canted edge and interior raised band under a central knob, all with varying degrees of malachite encrustation. 5 3/4, 3 1/8 and 3 1/8in (14.5, 8 and 8cm) diameters

Provenance: a Northern California Estate

Note: The mirrors in this lot have been in the United States since the late 1980s.