“Xianren bulao” TLV bronze mirror, Xin to early Eastern Han period, 1st century-China Archive

Image Number: C1A000298N000000000PBC
Dynasty: Xin dynasty
Category: Bronzes
Function: Household appliance
Material: Mineral/Metal/Bronze
Description:
Round mirror, hemispherical button, square flower seat, double line square bar around. In the column, there are twelve inscriptions on each side of the column, with milk between words. Outside the square column is the pattern of the Expo, with eight milk dice in a continuous arc pattern. It is full of four spirits, including green dragons, white tigers, rosefinches and Xuanwu, as well as other auspicious birds and auspicious animals, which are meticulous and complicated. An inscription around the perimeter reads: “The Shang Fang Zuo Jing (mirror) is really great and skillful. There are immortals on it [people don’t know how old they are]. They don’t go back to (wander around) famous mountains to pick up sesame grass, thirst for jade springs, and hunger for dates. They live long (together) with gold and stone [the protection of heaven]. They travel around the world and roam around the world.” Outer ring pattern. The edge of the mirror is decorated with zigzag patterns, and the outer ring is decorated with cloud patterns.