A ‘CLOUD AND NEBULAE’ BRONZE MIRROR, HAN DYNASTYChina, 206 BC to 220 AD. Of circular form, crisply cast in high relief, the central peaked knob surrounded by six tapering spikes, the main field with four large nipples alternating with clusters of smaller nipples joined by scrolls, all within narrow borders below the raised outer border of further joined arcs.Provenance: Collection of Dr. Walter Rieder (1890-1986), thence by descent. Old inventory labels to the mirror ‘’ and ‘73’. Dr. Walter Rieder served in the Swiss East Asia Mission (SOAM) in Qingdao, Shandong Province, between October 1930 and December 1951. The mission specialized in educational, literary, and philanthropic work and Dr. Rieder was in fact, not a theologian or missionary, but a teacher of mathematics, physics, and science to high school students attached to the SOAM. His guiding principles were 'Creating understanding between different cultures' and 'Building bridges between East and West'. While in Qingdao, Dr. Rieder collected a wide variety of Chinese art. The objects in the collection thus offer a unique window into the type of antiques that were on the market in Qingdao in the second quarter of the 20th century. As well as demonstrating his passion for Chinese art, his collection also reveals the personal friends Dr. Rieder forged with local artists, some of whom he knew from his teaching activities. Dr. Rieder had a scholarly approach to studying his collection. Alongside many of his objects, meticulous notes can sometimes be found detailing his art historicalmentaries. The collection was hence Dr. Rieder's gateway to the history and culture of China. Objects from the collection were exhibited at the Kunsthaus in Interlaken, Switzerland in 2006 and 2018.Condition: Fine condition,mensurate with age, presenting remarkably well. Extensive wear, weathering, corrosion, and nicks. Superb, naturally grown patina with extensive malachite, azurite, and cuprite encrustations.Weight: 198.2 gDimensions: Diameter 10.8 cmMirrors of this type are known as 'cloud and nebulae' mirrors because of the type of decoration - clusters of nipples connected by scrolls, which may represent clouds.Literatureparison:Compare the mirror of this type illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 132-3, no. 30. Another mirror of this type in the Sumitomo Collection, is illustrated in the exhibition catalog, Chinese Bronze Mirrors, Sen-Oku Hakuko Kan, Kyoto, 8 January - 6 March 2011, no. 23. See, also, the similar mirror illustrated by J. Rawson and E. Bunker, Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Oriental Ceramic Society, Hong Kong, 1990, no. 161, where the authors note that mirrors of this type weremon in China and have been found in various provinces including Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hunan and Jiangsu.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Christie’s New York, 22 March