Lot 198. A bronze 'Birds and Flowers' octafoil mirror, Tang Dynasty. Width 5 1/8 in., 12.9 cm. Estimation 8,000 — 12,000 USD. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's

cast in relief with four birds in flight separated by sprigs of flowers encircling a pierced knob modeled as a crouching beast, the raised border cast with further florets within its raised sharp octafoil border, the silvery-gray patina with patches of 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. 62.

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