A rare gold-sheet-inlaid bronze foliate mirror


Tang DynastyThe six-petalled mirror inlaid with a sheet of gold chased with three horses galloping head to tail in low relief against a ground of incised leafy scrolls issuing from the central domed knob, contrasting with the silvery finish on the wide rim and reverse reflective surface, box. 5.7cm (2 1/4in) wide. (2).
|唐 銅金背奔馬菱花鏡Provenance: The Mengdiexuan CollectionPublished: J.M.White and E.Bunker, Adornment for Eternity: Status and Rank in Chinese Ornament, Denver, 1994, p.140, no.55f. 來源： 香港夢蝶軒收藏出版： J.M.White及E.Bunker著，《Adornment for Eternity: Status and Rank in Chinese Ornament》，1994年，頁140，編號55f Mirrors had been made using bronze since the Shang dynasty (16th-11th century BC) but during the Tang dynasty, the most rare and prized mirrors were inset with either an elaborately decorated cut sheet of gold or silver.A related gold-sheet inlaid bronze mirror, Tang dynasty, similarly decorated with animals but of octafoil form, was sold at Christie's New York, 17-18 March 2016, lot 1402.