Lot 1404. A bronze circular 'phoenix' mirror, late Warring States period, 4th-3rd century BC. Estimate USD 5,000 - USD 7,000. Price realised USD 3,750 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012. 

Thinly cast, the back with a small central knob set within a concave square border, the four phoenixes standing on the corners alternating with four stylized birds shown as if seen from above, all reserved on a ground of angular scrolls filled with granulation and coiled scrolls - 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm.) diam., 1/16 (.2 cm.) thick, box - 78.3g 

Provenance: Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired from Edna Bahr, Connecticut, 1960s. 

Note: A very similar mirror from the Worch Collection is illustrated by B. Karlgren, "Huai and Han," BMFEA, Stockholm, 1941, No. 13, pl. 33 (D 34), and again by Karlgren in "Early Chinese Mirrors: Classification Scheme Recapitulated," BMFEA, Stockholm, 1968, No. 40, pl. 44 (D 34). Another mirror of this type and comparable size found in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 114-5, no. 22.  

Christie's. Luminous Perfection: Fine Chinese Mirrors from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, 22 March 2012, New York, Rockefeller Center