
A bronze bell-shaped mirror
Song dynasty (960-1279)
The mirror is set with a rectangular aperture on top for suspension and the reverse side is cast with a loop suspending a separate ring cast with irregular recesses. The mirror is inscribed in relief with a couplet gu zhong yu gong sheng wen tian wai, ‘the drum and the bell are in the palace, their sound can be heard outside heaven’, flanking a central square seal.
19.5 cm long
Provenance:
Sotheby’s London, 7 December 1993
Formerly in the collection of Robert Suermont
A similar bronze mirror of this shape is illustrated in the Lee Kong Chian Art Museum, catalogue no. 38. A further similar example is illustrated in Zhongguo Tong Jing, December 2013, Beijing, no. 61.