Cosmic Mirror

618-907

The decoration on this mirror hints at its function in magic rituals: bringing about prosperity and protection. Its main representation is the Five Sacred Mountains, which can bring forth auspicious blessings. The four characters read, “On the Fifth Day in the River,” a reference to the fifth day of the fifth month at the end of spring, which was recognized as a dangerous time when evil spirits had to be kept at bay. This day also commemorates the self-sacrifice of two individuals: a great poet Qu Yuan (active 300 BCE) and a heartbroken woman Cao E (Eastern Han dynasty), who drowned themselves in the Yangzi River.

Bronze

1/8 x 9 5/16 in. (0.32 x 23.7cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

51.32

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, Chinese Art Society of America, Chinese Mirrors, Feb. 1951.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Chinese Metalwork, July 12 - Nov. 27, 1988.

Champaign, Illinois, Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sacred Mountains In Chinese Art, Nov. 9 - Dec. 16, 1990 (New York, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jan. 25 - Mar. 31, 1991).

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Timeless Grandeur: Art from China, Apr. 25, 2002 - June 12, 2005.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Terratopia: The Chinese Landscape in Painting and Film, July 2, 2016 - Feb. 26, 2017.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water, Mar. 18 - May 30, 2022.

Published References"Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 58 (b&w)

Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, p. 391, 1968

Kadokawa Co.,"Sui and Tang dynasties of China", History of World Art, no. 84 (lst section).

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM