Lot 143. A rare silvery bronze 'dragon' mirror, Tang dynasty (618-907); 18.5cm diam. Sold for €7,680. Photo Bonhams.

Of circular shape, cast in relief with a sinuous three-clawed dragon amidst ruyi-shaped clouds, the body moving around the central hemispherical boss, the head turned backwards with its mouth open revealing powerful fangs, the bronze a bright silvery colour with some areas of verdigris.

Provenance: Alan Hartman, New York, acquired from Sotheby's New York in the 1970s (by repute)
Nagel, Stuttgart, 6th June 2005, lot 289.

Lot 142. A rare silvery bronze mirror, Tang dynasty (618-907); 15.7cm diam. Sold for €3,840.  Photo Bonhams.

Of lobed outline, crisply cast with a central loop knop cast in the form of a lotus pad rising from swirling water, encircled by the immortal Xiao Shi, seated on a straw mat playing a qin in front of a grove of trees, a crane in flight beneath a cluster of cloud-wreathed hills, a long-tailed phoenix clutching a trailing spray in its talons, the bronze a silvery colour, fitted box.

Provenance: Oriental Art Gallery, London, 8 August 1995.

Note: Compare with a bronze mirror illustrated in Toru Nakano, Bronze Mirrors from Ancient China. Donald H. Graham Jr. Collection, Hong Kong, 1994, pp.258-259, no.99.

Lot 141. A rare square silvery bronze mirror, Tang dynasty (618-907); 12cm diam. Sold for €1,280.  Photo Bonhams.

Of square shape, cast with five mountain peaks radiating from a central mountain forming the knop, with birds and flowers scattered among the summits, the bronze a silver patina.

Provenance: Alan Hartman, New York, acquired from Sotheby's New York in the 1970s (by repute)
Nagel, Stuttgart, 14 November 2005, lot 1475.

Bonhams - Cornette de Saint Cyr. CHINESE ART FROM A GERMAN FAMILY COLLECTION, Paris, 26 October 2023