Lot 4141. A rare silvered bronze 'Lion and Grape' mirror, Tang dynasty (618-907), 4 7/8 in. (12.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 100,000 - HKD 150,000. Price realised HKD 87,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The circular mirror is cast in high relief with a crouching lion knob encircled with grape vines and four further lions, the outer field with nine birds amidst similar vine scrolls, below a band of floral designs. The bronze has silvery patina, Japanese wood box. 

Provenance: A Japanese private collection, acquired in the 1980s    

Note: The lion designs were first seen on bronze mirrors upon the introduction of Buddhism into China, and became very popular in the Tang period. Compare two very large examples (24 cm diam.) with similar decoration but with additional lions surrounding the knob in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Shanghai Bowuguan cang qingtong jing, Shanghai, 1987, pls. 84-85. . 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 May 2012, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall