Two bronze mirrors, Yuan/Ming dynasty.
A smaller one decorated in relief with characters and another frieze with four fourlegged creatures galopping around the knob. Diameter 8,7 cm. The larger one decorated with cranes, and other animals. Knob in the shape of a turtle. Diameter 11 cm.
Tarnished.
Provenance
From the collection of a Swedish conneisseur of antiques with a great passion and interest for Asian Works of Art, especially Chinese porcelain, enamels and bronze mirrors. The mirrors were brought together during the 1950's and 1960's, thence by descent within the family.
Exhibitions
Compare the smaller one iwth lot no 10.70, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
More information
Bronze mirror had always been regarded as a daily-use article to put up make-up or dress up all the way through the late Neolithic Period to Ming and Qing Dynasties. Blended with our forefathers’ aesthetic affection and delicately made, these bronze mirrors, with their gorgeous patterns and solemn inscriptions, add luster to Chinese cultural history.
People in ancient China believed that the bronze mirrors can be used to ward off evil spirits and subdue demons, so the bronze mirrors were often found being placed on top of the door, the ridges and walls of houses and temples, and even on the soldier's chest.