Three bronze octafoil mirrors, Tang dynasty (618-907)
Lot 1141. Three bronze octafoil mirrors, Tang dynasty (618-907); 4 5/8, 6¼ and 5 1/8 in. (11.7, 15.8 and 13 cm.) across. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. Price Realised USD 18,750. © Christie's Image Ltd 2013
The smallest is cast in relief with four immortals seated astride birds or mythical beasts in flight around the central knob below alternating insects and flower sprigs in the eight bracket lobes of the outer border. The largest is also of bracket-lobed outline and has a tortoise-shaped knob in the middle of a square pond within a square border of various birds and animals, while four apsaras, or immortals, with trailing scarves are seen in flight amidst vaporous clouds in the outer field. The third mirror is thick and of scalloped outline, and the knob is encircled by a band of conjoined trefoils.
Provenance: Raymond A. Bidwell (1876-1954) Collection.
The Springfield Museums, Springfield, Massachusetts, accessioned in 1962.
Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 21 - 22 March 2013, New York, Rockefeller Plaza