An archaistic bronze circular mirror. Tang dynasty (618-907).  Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The central knob encircled by a band of interlaced scrolls filled with scale and rope-twist patterns, within raised rope-twist borders and an outer field of confronted dragons with interlaced bodies, with heavy malachite and fabric encrustation on the reverse; 6 11/16 in. (17 cm.) diam., 3/16 in. (.5 cm.) thick, box - 727.8g. Estimate $5,000 - $7,000. Price Realized $11,250

唐 蟠龍紋銅鏡

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

Notes: This mirror and others like it are unusual among mirrors of the Tang dynasty, as the decoration and the way in which it is flat-cast is not typical of Tang mirrors, but inspired by Warring States decoration. Based on excavated examples, such as the very similar mirror found at Beiyao tomb no. 3 in Luoyang, Henan province, and dated ca. mid-eighth century, which is illustrated inLuoyang chutu tongjing, Beijing, 1988, pl. 93, these mirrors are dated to the Tang dynasty. See, also, the similar mirror illustrated by Ju-hsi Chou in Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Bronze Mirrors, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000, p. 79, no. 73; and another from the Sze Yuan Tang Collection sold in these rooms, 16 September 2010, lot 912. 

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