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Mirror with a Coiling Dragon
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Cast in high-tin and low-lead bronze by the lost wax method, this mirror has a dark and lustrous patina known as heiqigu (literally, “black lacquer antique”). It bears a design of a coiling dragon among trailing clouds. With a small, elongated head connecting to an S-curve of the neck that is as sinuous as the body and tail, the dragon of the Tang period is unique.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineMirror with a Coiling Dragon (盤龍鏡), 700s. China, Tang dynasty (618-907). Bronze; diameter: 10.2 cm (4 in.); overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1995.367
