Cleveland Museum of Art

Mirror with Three Pairs of Bixie around a Loti-form Knob

Date

mid-600s

Medium

bronze

Culture

China, Tang dynasty (618-907)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The casting of this mirror is precise. The central knob is surrounded by 16 petals to assume the appearance of a lotus blossom. In the inner circle, the three pairs of bixie , mythological animals, are displayed in fuller relief and sense of organic coordination than animals in earlier Sui period mirrors, which are slender in proportion and lissome in appearance. The outer circle has a poetic inscription: The spirit merges with the forms that are being wrought. The lustrous metal matches the exquisite craftsmanship. Like a pearl, it emerges from the container box— A virtual moon suspended in the firmament. [It enables] the lady to draw her eyebrows And apply rouge to her face. Even those elegant windows and the embroidered curtains: Can all be reflected within. A bixie is a fantastical hybrid creature that was believed to ward off evil spirits.

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