Domed boss surrounded by raised band and dots, field of two phoenixes among flowers and vines, raised border with floral motif and five-lobed edges on both sides.

Accession Number
1965/2.61

Title
Domed boss surrounded by raised band and dots, field of two phoenixes among flowers and vines, raised border with floral motif and five-lobed edges on both sides.

Artist(s)
Korean

Artist Nationality
Korean (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
918-1392

Medium & Support
bronze

Dimensions
3/8 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (0.8 x 11.3 x 11.3 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund

Subject matter
This type mirrors have survived in great numbers, and are being continuously discovered in Goryeo period tombs.

Physical Description
This mirror features designs of two birds, coupled with floral motifs, positioned symmetrically on the left and right sides. Eight-foiled barbed bronze mirror is general. This type is a modified form of that.

This blue-green bronze mirror decorated with a double crane design is excellently cast. It is five-lobed, and the registers are also divided by five-lobe shaped ridge. The outer register is decorated with scroll design while the inner register is adorned with a pair of cranes, with wings spread and heads turned right, arranged on either side of the central suspension loop against the honeysuckle scroll background. This object may be compared to other crane-patterned mirrors excavated from the Geumcheondong site tomb in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province.

[Korean Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2017), 240]



Primary Object Classification
Metalwork

Primary Object Type
mirror

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
Koryŏ
bronze (metal)
flower (motif)
hand mirrors
phoenixes

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted

On display

UMMA Gallery Location ➜ FFW, Mezzanine ➜ M07 (Woon-hyung Lee and Korea Foundation Gallery of Korean Art)