Octafoil Mirror with Hunters and Prey
Unknown Artist
late 600s–early 700s
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
diam. 20 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
1995.365
About this artwork
Corrosion has covered this mirror's surface with an uneven layer of green patination. Otherwise, this medium-sized mirror is strong in impact and dynamic in movement. The border arrangement is typical, with eight compartments for four types of decoration arranged in pairs across the same axis. Other than the cloud scrolls, which have been radically transformed so as to be almost unrecognizable, the rest are fine portrayals of insects and plants—a typical arrangement for Tang mirrors, perhaps of ...