Lot 1411. A bronze circular 'Cloud and Nebulaer' mirror, Mid Western Han dynasty, 2nd century BC. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 10,625. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012.

Crisply cast, the upright knob formed by a cluster of tall pointed nipples set within a raised border of linked swirls, the main field with four 'stars' with pointed nipple centers alternating with groupings of further nipples joined by scrolls, all within rope-twist borders, and a raised outer border of linked arcs, which like the 'stars', center of the knob and inner arc border, is silvery in contrast to the grey patina of the surrounding decoration, 5¼ in. (13.4 cm.) diam., ¼ in. (.5 cm.) thick, box - 363.7g 

Provenance: Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired in Hong Kong, 1990. 

Note: Mirrors of this type are known as 'cloud and nebulae' mirrors because of the type of decoration - clusters of nipples connected by scrolls, which may represent clouds. Compare the mirror of this type illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 132-3, no. 30. (Fig. 1) Another mirror of this type in the Sumitomo Collection, is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Chinese Bronze Mirrors, Sen-Oku Hakuko Kan, Kyoto, 8 January - 6 March 2011, no. 23. See, also, the similar mirror illustrated by J. Rawson and E. Bunker, Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Oriental Ceramic Society, Hong Kong, 1990, no. 161, where the authors note that mirrors of this type were common in China and have been found in various provinces including Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hunan and Jiangsu. 

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