Lot 1130. A silvery bronze mirror, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220). Price Realised  USD 21,250. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2011.

The knob encircled by a band of nine bosses joined by leafy tendrils, hatchured and plain bands, and an outer field of seven roundels with a central nipple that alternate with a seated Daoist immortal and six divine beasts and birds, all within another hatchured border below dogtooth and zigzag bands on the rim, with added silvery patination on some of the decoration, with silvery grey patina and some blue-green and ferrous encrustation; 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm.) diam. 

Provenance: Acquired in Palm Springs, California, November 1996. 

Note: A mirror of this type in the Donald H. Graham, Jr. Collection is illustrated by Toru Nakano, Bronze Mirrors from Ancient China, 1994, pp. 148-9. The author describes the seven nipples within a continuous arc roundel as "miniaturized mirrors" representing seven children, while the nine nipples "signify nine grandchildren." The combination of the various motifs most likely conveys a wish for longevity and numerous children and grandchildren. As with the present mirror, areas of the decoration are highlighted by added silvery patination. Another related mirror is illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors in the National Museum of History, Taipei, 1996, pp. 96-7.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York, Rockefeller Plaza