Cleveland Museum of Art

Mirror with Jade Disk Inset

Date

475 BCE–9 CE

Medium

bronze with nephrite and turquoise

Culture

China, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE), Warring States period (475–221 BCE) to Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Mirrors with a jade disk inset are perhaps the rarest of all known bronze mirrors in China. This object's conception was unquestionably aristocratic, and it was meticulously and exquisitely crafted. Aided by the skillful carving of its surface, the nephrite here exhibits a subtle luminosity. The disk features within the inner circle a pair of phoenixes and in the outer ring a set of four oxen masks having extended and interlocking horns-motifs often seen in jades of the late Warring States period and early Western Han dynasty. Consequently, this mirror has been dated to that span of time.

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