A RARE SILVER-BACKED BRONZE MIRROR TANG DYNASTY, 7TH/8TH CENTURY

of circular shape, the thin silver sheet with a finely punched ground and decorated in repoussé with four feline creatures chasing each other around the central boss in the form of a crouching beast, all enclosed by a double beaded border encased by the bronze mirror rim, the reflective surface with iron red and malachite encrustations

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 122.

Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain. The Kempe Collection, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1971, cat. no. 60, an exhibition touring the United States and shown also at nine other museums.

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 122.

Bo Gyllensvärd, 'T'ang Gold and Silver', Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, no. 29, 1957, pl. 2c, fig. 52q.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 125.

The reflective surface shows some cuprite and malachite encrustation. The silver back is tarnished to a dark grey and shows light overall wear and some indentations.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Bronze mirrors are a popular feature of Tang culture and were made in many different shapes, designs and sizes. Small bronze mirrors such as the present example are rare and those decorated with silver sheet even rarer. A larger silver-backed bronze mirror decorated with six lions arranged around the central knop, now in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, was exhibited Grenville L. Winthrop: Retrospective for a Collector, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 1969, cat. no. 61, which is inscribed with a date equivalent to 682 - 683 AD beneath the silver backing. For another example of a bronze and gilt-silver bronze mirror in the Hakutsuru Museum, Kobe, see Sui Tô no bijutsu, Osaka, 1978, fig. 51. Compare also a related mirror, unearthed near Xi'an, Shaanxi province and currently in the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an, illustrated in Sekai bijutsu taizenshû: Tôyô hen, vol. 4, Tokyo, 1997, pl. 196.