CC0 · no rights reserved
Mirror with Deities, Chariot, and the White Tiger
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Depicted on the mirror back are two Daoist deities: the King Father of the East (Dongwanggong) and the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu). Completing the design are the White Tiger of the west (one the Four Spirits representing the four cardinal directions, including the Green Dragon of the east, the Red Bird of the south, and the Dark Warrior of the north) and a chariot drawn by three horses. The reason for the redundancy of two symbolic images relating to the west is not known.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineMirror with Deities, Chariot, and the White Tiger (書畫鏡), 100–200 CE. China, Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE). Bronze; diameter: 18.3 cm (7 3/16 in.); overall: 1.7 cm (11/16 in.); rim: 0.9 cm (3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1995.332
Similar works
Mirror with a Central Square, Immortals, and Auspicious Animals
Mirror with a Central Square, an Immortal, and Auspicious Animals
Mirror with Ornamental Bands and Rosettes
Animal-and-Grape Mirror
Mirror with Deities and Animals Surrounded by Rings of Squares and Semicircles
Mirror with board game design and mythical creatures