mirror BM-1933-1027.1

Period:Tang dynasty Production date:8thC-9thC (circa)
Materials:bronze, lacquer, mother-of-pearl,
Technique:inlaid, lacquered,
Subjects:bird
Dimensions:Diameter: 29.20 centimetres Weight: 2376 grammes

Description:
Bronze mirror with mother-of-pearl inlaid in lacquer. Decorated with two phoenixes.
IMG


Comments:Rawson 1994:during the Tang dynasty (AD 618-906), lacquer was inlaid with gold, silver and mother-of-pearl. Such rich surfaces appear on the reverse of bronze and silver mirrors and on musical instruments, for example. The shell used is in much larger and thicker slices than those used for ilaying lacquer later in China. In mirrors such as these lacquer is used as a bed for the shell inlay, and descriptive details are incised in the shell. Similar mirrors have been excavated in China and some are preserved in the Shosho-in, Nara, Japan.