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Mirror: O.19-1984

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Current Location: Gallery 29 - Korean Gallery

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Mirror with zodiac figures. Bronze. This circular mirror has a central knob in the shape of a toad or frog, with an opening between the feet for attaching a cord. The surrounding surface is divided into five concentric zones decorated in shallow relief, showing in the centre the guardian animals of the cardinal points (the green dragon for the East and the Left, the dark serpent and tortoise for North and the Back, the red bird for the South and the Front and the white tiger for the West and the Right); the surrounding zone has the eight trigrams and the characters for seven or eight of the ten `celestial stems'; the following shows the twelve `earthly branches' represented by the anthropomorphic animals of the Chinese Zodiac; the next zone contains thirty-six representatives of the animal kingdom; and the final one characters representing the twenty-four solar terms, i.e. the changing climate throughout the year. The mirror is heavily patinated in places.

Notes

History note: Unknown before donor

Legal notes

Gompertz Gift

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 18 cm
Height: 0.5 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1984-07-23) by Gompertz, G. St. G. M., Mr and Mrs

Dating

Koryo Dynasty
12th Century
13th Century
Circa 1100 - 1300

Note

This kind of bronze is called 'paektong' ('white bronze') in Korea.

Materials used in production

paektong (white bronze) Bronze

Techniques used in production

Patinating

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: O.19-1984
Primary reference Number: 16566

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 29 April 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Mirror" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/16566 Accessed: 2025-12-05 09:51:14

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/16566 |title=Mirror |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 09:51:14|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-16566

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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Mirror</figcaption>
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