Mirror Stand in the Shape of a Djeiran
Unknown Artist
mid 1600s-early 1900s
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
10.6 × 21.2 cm, l. 11.1 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee
Accession Number
1995.385
About this artwork
This mirror stand is the in shape of a recumbent djeiran, or Central Asian antelope. Commonly appearing on Sogdian silver from the 600s onward, the djeiran motif migrated via the trade routes to northern China. There, during the Jin and Yuan (1279–1368) dynasties, it was very popular and always depicted with the moon supported by clouds. Chinese writers often identify the djeiran as the mythical rhinoceros (xi'niu) that is said to gaze at the moon, or as the cow of Wu "panting upon seeing the mo...