Luxury Goods: Gallery

China, mid-Tang dynasty, first half of 8th century
Cast bronze
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Freer Gallery of Art F1938.8

A coiled dragon with a pearl (represented by the central knob on the mirror) amidst clouds is a prominent motif in Tang mirror decoration. This mirror is distinguished by its imposing size (with a diameter of more than eight inches) and its forceful presentation of the scaly, three-clawed dragon with its tail and one rear leg intertwined. Associated with imperial authority and prestige, mirrors such as this were exchanged as gifts between the Tang emperor Xuanzong (reigned 713–755) and his court officials. Legends hold that such mirrors possessed the power to summon rain. They were conventionally cast on the fifth day of the fifth month, according to the Chinese lunar calendar, a point when fire, one of the five elements in the Chinese cosmology, was thought to be most active.

China, early or mid-Tang dynasty, late 7th–early 8th century
Cast bronze and applied gold plaque with repoussé, chased, and ring-punched decoration
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Freer Gallery of Art F1930.45

China, early or mid-Tang dynasty, late 7th–first half of 8th century
Cast bronze and applied gold plaque with repoussé, chased, and ring-punched decoration
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Freer Gallery of Art F1935.6a-b

The mirror’s diminutive size (slightly more than two inches in diameter) and finely worked gold back suggest its preciousness. Carried in a wide sleeve of a garment or in a silk pouch, mirrors such as this were probably owned by members of the Tang elite. The technique of using a silver or gold plaque to decorate the reverse of a bronze mirror first appeared during the Tang dynasty, and it was rarely found in later periods. Here, the craftsman first shaped a thin sheet of gold into raised designs of animals and flowers, and then he used extremely fine tools to define the details of the animals’ fur. Last, the gold plaque was attached to the bronze body with a filling material between them. It remains a mystery, however, as to how the craftsman made the tiny front and back legs of each animal completely raised above the ground, giving a sense of three-dimensionality to the animals in relief.

China, mid-Tang dynasty, 8th century
Cast bronze, gold and silver sheets with chased decoration, and lacquer
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Freer Gallery of Art F1944.8

The decoration on the back of this mirror was done in pingtuo, one of the most sumptuous decorative techniques developed during the Tang dynasty. To produce this design of four mythical birds surrounded by butterflies amid vegetal scrolls and sprays, craftsmen cut thin sheets of precious metals into delicate patterns and added minute details to the plumage of birds and other areas, possibly with a small chisel. Then they set these delicate cut-outs in the wet ground of a lacquer-based mixture (derived from the sap of the lacquer tree) that served as an adhesive. When dry, the surface was polished. The dark, matte lacquer ground enhances the shiny, luxurious quality of the decoration. The Tang elite indulged in acquiring luxuries decorated with the pingtuo technique to such an overwhelming extent that in 772 the emperor Daizong (reigned 762–779) had to issue a sumptuary law to ban its application—but it met with little success.

China, early or mid-Tang dynasty, late 7th–first half of 8th century
Cast bronze and applied silver plaque with repoussé, chased, and ring-punched decoration and mercury gilding
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Freer Gallery of Art F1954.22

Mirrors were durable treasures. When not in use, mirrors such as this, backed with an elaborately decorated silver plaque, may have been protected in silk wrappers. Traces of fabric impressions are still visible on the raised bronze rim of the mirror.