Bronze Mirror Decorated with Mythical Animals, Northern and Southern Dynasties to Sui period, 6th century

Bronze Mirror Decorated with Mythical Animals, Northern and Southern Dynasties to Sui period, 6th century

• Image Number: K1A000519N000000000PAB
• Dynasty: Wei, Jin, Southern & Northern Dynasties (Six Dynasties)
• Category: Bronzes
• Function: Household appliance
• Material: Mineral/Metal/Bronze
• Description:
  Round mirror, hemispherical button, round button seat, with small bumps on the seat. The main decorative area on the mirror back is where auspicious animals such as dragons and tigers roam in the clouds. The outer ring is corrugated and serrated. Triangular bevel. Mirrors of similar type and system were once unearthed in the joint tomb of Song Xin and his wife of the Sui Dynasty in Chang’an, Shaanxi Province. This mirror has the basic characteristics of the circular pattern, zigzag pattern and triangular oblique edge on the bronze mirror in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The vivid and flexible auspicious animal looms in the clouds, either holding its head high or looking forward, full of romantic sentiment. This new way of expression is different from the vigorous visual effect of the early bronze mirror decoration, which opened the magnificent and romantic style of bronze mirrors in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.