A RARE CHINESE BRONZE ‘FOUR DRAGONS’ CIRCULAR MIRROR

A RARE CHINESE BRONZE ‘FOUR DRAGONS’ CIRCULAR MIRROR
WARRING STATES PERIOD

Heavily cast in relief with four semi-abstract, angular mythical monsters, their heads, bodies and feet formed as hooks, which encircle a four-petalled central boss. The reverse with areas of high polish and of malachite encrustations, 661g, 11.6cm wide, 6mm deep.

Provenance: from the collection of Adolphe Stoclet, 1871-1949.

Exhibited: Bronze chinois, Paris, Musée de L’Orangerie, 1934, no.406, & Chinese Art, London, Royal Academy of Arts, 1935-36, no.424.

Published: S Umehara, Two Ancient Chinese Mirrors, Kôkogaku Zasshi, Tokyo, January 1930, vol. XX, no.1, pp.20-27. H F E Visser, Asiatic Art, Amsterdam, 1947, no.79, pl.49. & Georges A Salles and Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, Adolphe Stoclet Collection (part I), Brussels, 1956, pp.338-341.

Cf. Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, pp.96-87, no.8, for a closely related example. See also Sotheby's, Hong Kong, Chinese Works of Art Including Selected Works of Art from the T Y Chao Family Collection, 13th November 2017, lot 718, for a later mirror of the same design dated to possibly the Song dynasty.

戰國 銅四龍紋鏡

來源：Adolphe Stoclet (斯托克萊1871-1949）收藏。

展覽：Bronze chinois, 法國巴黎橘園美術館, 1934年, 編號406, 及Chinese Art, 倫敦皇家藝術研究院, 1935-36年, 編號424。

出版：S Umehara, Two Ancient Chinese Mirrors, Kôkogaku Zasshi, Tokyo, January 1930, vol. XX, 編號1, 頁20-27。 H F E Visser, Asiatic Art, Amsterdam, 1947年, 編號79, 圖版49 及 Georges A Salles and Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, Adolphe Stoclet Collection (part I), Brussels, 1956年, 頁338-341。