id: 159204 accession number: 1995.389 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.389 updated: 2019-11-29 09:00:15.527000 Mirror with a Pair of Phoenixes, 1100s. China, Song dynasty (960-1279). Bronze; diameter: 35.1 cm (13 13/16 in.); overall: 1.3 cm (1/2 in.); rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee 1995.389 title: Mirror with a Pair of Phoenixes title in original language: 雙鳳鏡 series: series in original language: creation date: 1100s creation date earliest: 1100 creation date latest: 1199 current location: creditline: Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee copyright: --- culture: China, Song dynasty (960-1279) technique: bronze department: Chinese Art collection: China - Song Dynasty type: Metalwork find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Diameter: 35.1 cm (13 13/16 in.); Overall: 1.3 cm (1/2 in.); Rim: 0.8 cm (5/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Zhang Zigao from Jinling. translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors opening date: 2000-09-17T00:00:00 Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 17-November 26, 2000); China Institute Gallery (February 6-June 2, 2002); Elvehjem Museum of Art (December 20, 2003-February 29, 2004). title: "The Splendor of Chinese Silk" – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c – February-August 2018 opening date: 2018-02-05T05:00:00 "The Splendor of Chinese Silk" – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c – February-August 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 5-August 12, 2018). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; September 17-November 26, 2000. "Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors" exh. cat. no. 79, p. 84; pp. 109-110, 125; repr. p. 84.

New York, New York: China Institute Gallery; February 6, 2002-June 2, 2002. "Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors".

Madison, Wisconsin: Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison; December 20, 2003-February 29, 2004. "Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors". --- PROVENANCE Thomas and Martha Carter, Madison, WI date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: A union of male and female birds, the phoenix often symbolizes the yin and yang of Chinese philosophy, which equates to universal balance and harmony. digital description: wall description: This exceptionally large bronze mirror features magnificently long-tailed phoenixes with cloud scrolls, motifs that can also be seen on the silk boots nearby. While the mirror, according to its inscription Zhang Zhigao from Jinling (Nanjing) was made in southeast China, the boots were made in the northern part of China then occupied by the Khitan people. The inscription is placed to the right of the mirror’s central knob. Mirrors typically have one polished and one decorated side and were used in part in tombs for ritual purpose or served as disks for reflection. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Spee, Clarissa von. "From the SIlk Road to the Imperial Court: Chinese Textiles in the Cleveland Museum of Art." Arts of Asia 48, no. 3(May-June 2018): 50-56. page number: Reproduced: p. 52, fig. 3 url: Chou, Ju-hsi. Circles of reflection: the Carter collection of Chinese bronze mirrors. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. page number: Reproduced: p. 84, cat. no. 79 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.389/1995.389_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.389/1995.389_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1995.389/1995.389_full.tif