Lot 191. A large bronze inscribed 'Zodiac' mirror, Sui Dynasty. Diameter 8 1/2 in., 21.5 cm. Estimation 80,000 — 100,000 USD. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's

the central knob surrounded by the 'animals of the four directions', the dragon representing the east, the phoenix representing the south, the tiger the west, and the snake-encoiled turtle the north, further surrounded by a band of characters, the outer well with the twelve zodiac animals, the silver mirror with green encrustation. 

Provenance: Old Japanese collection, circa 1980, by repute.

Exposition: Uragami Sokyu-do, Co., Ltd., Bronze Mirrors from Sui to Tang Dynasty, Tokyo, 10th November 2010, cat. no. 1.

Sotheby's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART. 18 MARS 2014 - 19 MARS 2014. NEW YORK - www.sothebys.com