◇ Heritage No. :
◇ Collection Name:Bronze Mirror
◇ Historical date:Western Han dynasty
◇ Collection Size:18.5 cm in diameter
◇ Collection Source:Unearthed in Wanquhou Tomb in Boji Mountain in 1994
The bronze mirror was unearthed at the right lower part of the tomb of Wan Yanhou Liu Yan. It broke into more than 10 pieces and now has been bonded. The mirror is round and has an oxide protective layer on the surface. The mirror button breaks through the three-string button style of the early Western Han Dynasty mirror. It is a dragon-tortoise fit. The button body is a turtle shape. The back has a semicircular armor. There are scales on the head and neck, and the dragon's neck bends backwards and lies on the turtle's back. The turtle button is decorated with four pedicles, and there are four prairie dragons walking around the mirror button.
The pattern on the back of the mirror is clear and extremely delicate. The main pattern is a portrait of a person, divided into four sections, each section is separated by Boshan patterns, the content is exactly the same. The picture is divided into two rows, the upper row is divided into three groups of characters, each group with ancient trees. The group on the left is a picture of a tiger tamer. The tiger tamer stands, extends his left hand forward, and strokes a tiger. The tiger slaps on the ground, and the long tail rises like a wagging tail, a tamed posture. The middle group is a picture of listening to the piano. The middle one is playing the piano. The right is sitting with one person holding his hands up. The two in the right group stood with their hands arched opposite each other, with a cloud crown on their heads, a deep-clothing girdle, and their feet full of warriors. They were respectful and seemingly in conversation. There are two groups of left and right pictures in the lower row, separated by Boshan patterns. The left group is a scene of a reindeer. The reindeer sits with his right hand on his lap, his left hand is extended forward, and he strokes the head of the leopard. A leopard seems to have just jumped out of the mountain, with his front legs on the ground and his hind legs vacated. The right group is a picture of a tiger rider, with the head of a tiger rider with a lock of hair and riding on the back of the tiger; the tiger growling heads, the fourth is kicking the ground, and the tail rises like a gallop.
A total of 32 people, 8 tigers, 4 leopards, 16 trees, and 12 mountain peaks were cast on the back of the entire mirror. In addition to the buttons, 4 dragons and 1 turtle dragon on the seat, a total of 77 objects were carved. There are scenes that reflect real life at the time, as well as mythological stories. The mirror-maker has shown a very rich content from real life to mythology between square inches, which can be described as ingenuity. The mirror is well-cast and uses a variety of bas-relief techniques to express different patterns. The ground patterns are simple, the main patterns are neat, and the levels are clear. It fully demonstrates the superb mirror-casting technology of the Western Han Dynasty.
This mirror is the only early Western Han Dynasty portrait excavation unearthed by science. The Freer Art Museum in the United States also has a portrait mirror exactly the same. In addition, Liu Tizhi's Volume 16 of "The Xiaowen Jingge Jinwen" contains a portrait mirror, which is exactly the same as the portrait mirror unearthed from the tomb of Wan Maohou. The two portrait mirrors may be cast with the same mold. In addition, Huang Jun ’s edition of “Respecting Ancient Zhai Ancient Mirrors” has a portrait mirror in the shape of 1814. Its shape and decoration are the same as those of the tomb buried in the tomb of Wanhaohou, but with a slightly smaller size and a diameter of 15 cm. The bronze mirror is one of the most common burials in the tombs of the Western Han Dynasty in Xuzhou. In the inscriptions of the bronze mirrors of the Han Dynasty that were unearthed in the past, there was a description of “bronze out of Xuzhou and teacher out of Luoyang. It is likely to be the center of the foundry handicraft industry in the Central Plains. Therefore, the portrait mirror unearthed from the tomb of Wanquhou is most likely cast in the Chu State.