A LARGE CHINESE SILVERED BRONZE MIRROR

A LARGE CHINESE SILVERED BRONZE MIRROR
TANG DYNASTY

Cast with two cranes and two peonies in relief around a central boss, the lobed rim with eight pairs of leaves, the surface heavily encrusted and corroded, 1.6kg, 24.2cm.

Provenance: from the collection of Dame Marie Tempest (1864 -1942), and thence by descent.

Dame Marie Tempest (née Marie Susan Etherington,1864-1942) was an English actress sometimes referred to as ‘the Queen of her profession’. Tempest’s career spanned over five decades, making her stage debut in 1885 in the operetta Boccaccio at the Comedy Theatre. The title role in Dorothy (1887), running for 931 performances, established her career and reputation. In 1914, she undertook an eight-year worldwide tour, visiting America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Singapore, Japan, the Philippines and China, where she may have acquired this mirror. In 1935, she celebrated her golden jubilee with a performance attended by George V and Queen Mary, and two years later, she was made a Dame of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).

Cf. Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, pp.230-231, for a closely related but slightly smaller example.

唐 銅仙鶴紋八瓣葵花式鏡

來源：Dame Marie Tempest (1864 -1942) 收藏，之後由其後人繼承。