Inlay for a Mirror or Box: Lady and Mandolin
Unknown Artist
c. 900–1000
Medium
beaten silver with chased details
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.046,"width":0.084}}
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Eugene Victor Thaw
Accession Number
1969.78.1
About this artwork
The p'ing-t'o technique of inlaying gold and silver foil on lacquer produced luxurious articles of elegance and fragility. These stray silver inlays were originally mounted on a mirror back or a cosmetic box whose lacquered surface has disintegrated. They combine auspicious symbols of Indian and Chinese origin--human-headed birds whose melodies filled the Buddhist paradise, and bird-riding deities who inhabited the skies of Taoist mythology. Like these imaginary beings, the lions were probabl...