A small inscribed archaic bronze mirror and a silver-inlaid bronze belthook, Han dynasty and Warring States period

Mirror:

Rutherstone Collection.

Collection of Ronald G. Tackrah.

Sotheby's London, 26th June 1973, lot 63.

Belthook:

Sotheby's London, 29th March 1977, lot 191.

According to a personal communiqé from leading Chinese art historian S. Howard Hansford (1899-1973), the lengthy clerical-script inscription may be translated as follows:

Its inner purity reflects the light,

Its radiance is like that of the sun and the moon.

It lifts the mind to feeling of loyalty,

But obstructs contention, so that none may find vent.