Cleveland Museum of Art

Mirror with Twin Dragons and Lotus Blossoms

Date

1338

Medium

bronze

Culture

China, Shanxi province, Hezhong, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The mirror features a pair of dragons poised to seize flaming pearls. Blossoms like lotus and chrysanthemum emerge among the dragons. Surrounding the central knob of the mirror is a square enclosing the characters "至元四年 (Fourth Year of Zhiyuan, 1338)." The square also encompasses a barely legible engraving which identifies the workshop in today’s Shanxi province: "White bronze mirror cast under the supervision of retainers from the house of Ma Gouyu in the prefecture of Hezhong." This intricate mirror was donated in honor of Sherman Lee, the museum's longest tenured director.

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