Cleveland Museum of Art

Inlay for a Mirror or Box: shih-shih

Date: c. 900–1000
Medium: beaten silver with chased details
Culture: China, Tang dynasty (618-907) - Song dynasty (960-1279)
Department: Chinese Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

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 probably paired in a radial design; at least one has been lost.

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