China, Xin dynasty (9–23 CE) / 9–23 CE
TLV Mirror with Multiple Nipples
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs TLV Mirror with Multiple Nipples as metalwork (China, Xin dynasty (9–23 CE) · 9–23 CE).
This mirror includes a poetic inscription that credits the immortals as protectors of the kingdom.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this metalwork as bronze.
The museum's collection notes: The inscription in this mirror reads: A fine mirror it is, my making of it! I can show the ageless immortals up above. They wander over the earth and belittle the Four Oceans. They live as long as metal and stone, And are true protectors of our kingdom. These poetic lines suggest the reflective and magical qualities of the bronze mirror in the Chinese imagination. Besides reflecting the immortals, it illuminated the human soul so that it would be in tune with forces of yin and yang in Chinese cosmology.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtTLV Mirror with Multiple NipplesOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.