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Lobed Mirror with a Tortoise Knob, Musician, and Phoenix
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The inscription on this mirror states it was one of a pair made of metals from the south, and placed in a jade box, perhaps alluding to a wedding gift. The meaning of its design is not entirely known, but may refer to the Daoist immortal Hou Jin, who played the qin (stringed instrument), understood the language of birds, and could make predictions based on the reflections on water. The motifs of the phoenix, the pond, and the qin may all refer to the quest for immortality.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineLobed Mirror with a Tortoise Knob, Musician, and Phoenix (真子飛霜葵花鏡), late 700s. China, Tang dynasty (618-907). Bronze; diameter: 21.6 cm (8 1/2 in.); overall: 1.2 cm (1/2 in.); rim: 0.6 cm (1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1995.369
