A LARGE SILVERED BRONZE 'DRAGON' MIRROR

Probably Tang Dynasty

Footnotes

或唐 銅鎏銀龍紋葵花鏡

Provenance: Alex Koh International, Singapore
Quek Kiok Lee (1921 – 2018), Singapore, acquired from the above on 6 February 1999, and thence by descent
Bonhams London, 4 November 2019, lot 60

來源： Alex Koh International，新加坡
郭克禮 (1921-2018)，新加坡，從上處獲得於1999年2月6日，並由後人保存
倫敦邦瀚斯，2019年11月4日，拍品編號60

Quek Kiok Lee 郭克禮 (1921-2018) was a Singaporean businessman, banker, investor, and the founder of the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society (SEACS) and acquisition advisor on Chinese antiquities for the National University of Singapore.

The dragon depicted in the present lot is characteristic of the Tang dynasty, distinguished by the concentration of the eyes, brows, and nose within a small, elongated head; a longer, more slender neck compared to other dragon portrayals; and strong legs set wide apart. For further discussion on the dragon of the Tang dynasty and a related 'dragon' mirror, Tang dynasty, see Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Mirrors, Cleveland, 2000, no.72, p.78. See also a similar bronze dragon mirror, Tang dynasty, in the collection of the Shanghai museum, illustrated by Chen Peifen, Shanghai bowuguan cang qingtong jing 上海博物館藏青銅鏡, Shanghai, 1987, pl.86.

See a similar but smaller silvered bronze eight-lobed mirror, Tang dynasty, which was sold at Christie's New York, 16 September 2010, lot 922.