Mirror
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Though the surface design of this mirror is fantastically complex, its greatest significance is the inscription cast on its border:
The sages made this mirror with the essence of the Five Elements. The images and designs are derived from the fundamental principles. Its brilliance is like the sun and moon, and its character firm and clear. When you see your face in the mirror, it dispels all harms and woes. May the Central Kingdom (i.e., China) be peaceful and secure, and prosper for generations and generations to come, by following the great law that governs all.
These lines express explicitly the spirit of the age, when people from all parts of the empire began to identify themselves as Chinese, and China as their common homeland
The sages made this mirror with the essence of the Five Elements. The images and designs are derived from the fundamental principles. Its brilliance is like the sun and moon, and its character firm and clear. When you see your face in the mirror, it dispels all harms and woes. May the Central Kingdom (i.e., China) be peaceful and secure, and prosper for generations and generations to come, by following the great law that governs all.
These lines express explicitly the spirit of the age, when people from all parts of the empire began to identify themselves as Chinese, and China as their common homeland
Artwork Details
- 汉 青铜鎏金“中国大宁”铭规矩纹镜
- Title: Mirror
- Period: Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)
- Culture: China
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: Diam. 7 5/16 in. (18.6 cm)
- Classification: Mirrors
- Credit Line: Lent by National Museum of China
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art