Mirror with TLV patterns and Four Direction Animals
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Denver Art Museum, March 1937.
Ancient Chinese Bronzes, Pomona College, Claremont, CA, 1947.
Masterpieces of Chinese Art, University of Oklahoma, Museum of Art, Norman, Oklahoma, January - March 1952; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, November 19, 1954 - January 2, 1955; Ohio State University, Columbus; Exhibition in conjunction with the Summer Institute on the Far East, June 20 - July 22, 1955.This type of mirror was popular about the same time as the rise of a dice game called liubo (six rods). The mirror resembles a liubo chessboard, as seen in the central square and beyond it are patterns that are similar to the letters T, L and V. Animals, including a snake twining around a turtle, birds, tigers, and dragons, are cast in raised relief within the compartments confined by the TLV patterns. These animals symbolized the four cardinal directions during the Han dynasty and also coincided with the directional associations of the liubo game.
The mirror is cast with two bands of inscriptions. The first inscription is the twelve characters for zodiac alongside the central square. The second inscription is on the ring encircling the TLV pattern reads:
The Wang family made this mirror. Barbarians of the four directions have all submitted. May the Xin State and the people be at rest. May the barbarians be destroyed and the Empire be restored. May wind and rain be coming in the right time and the five types of grains be harvested in bounty. May the official position be honorably high and the emolument be rewarded. May our parents and descendants be forever protected.
Pai Teh Jen;
Purchased from Pai Teh Jen by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1932.
