CC0 · no rights reserved
Mirror with Lotus and Mantra
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This mirror features intricate Buddhist designs. Around the central knob are four leaves, a ring of tiny beads, and then a circle made up of small lotus flower designs. Outside of that are eight big petal shapes, inside each is a Sanskrit letter. The mirror has the phrase "In the name of Om mani padme hum " written in a slightly incorrect form of Sanskrit, possibly because the Chinese mirror maker was not familiar with the language.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineMirror with Lotus and Mantra (蓮花鏡), 1271–1368. China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Bronze; diameter: 22.3 cm (8 3/4 in.); overall: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); rim: 0.7 cm (1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1999.221
