Item number: X72

Year: circa AD 649-705

Material: Bronze

Size: 130 x 130 x 8.8 mm

Weight: 425 g

Provenance: Osaka Minami Art Museum Co., Ltd. 2008

This artefact is a Tang Dynasty bronze mirror adorned with motifs of auspicious animals and grapevines.

The mirror surface is plain and highly polished. The reverse features a spherical central knob, set within a wide, shallow circular boss. The decoration is arranged concentrically, divided into inner and outer zones by a raised circular ridge. Within the inner zone, three auspicious beasts rendered in high relief run around the central knob. The forms of these auspicious beasts resemble the suanni (mythical lions) found on mirrors from the late Sui and early Tang dynasties; they represent auspicious beast patterns introduced from regions such as India and Persia, a lineage that ultimately originated from the imagery of the lion. These beasts are surrounded by dense clusters of grapes and scrolling vines. The circular ridge separating the inner and outer designs is a double-layered band, higher on the outside and lower on the inside, featuring an outward-pointing serrated pattern in the middle. The outer zone features seven avian figures in various postures, some resembling peacocks with large, broom-like feathers. They are similarly surrounded by grape clusters and vines. The rim is decorated with a double band of serrated patterns, which are sparse on the outer edge and dense on the inner edge.

Mirrors with auspicious beasts and grape motifs have long been referred to by Japanese scholars as the “mirror of many riddles” and the “mirror condensing Eurasian civilisation”, as both the auspicious beasts and the scrolling grape patterns are rarely seen in ancient Chinese mirrors. The earliest literary record derives from the Northern Song Dynasty catalogue Xuanhe Bogu Tulu (Illustrated Catalogue of Xuanhe Antiquities), where it was designated as a Han Dynasty “sea horse and grape mirror (jian)”; however, the rationale behind the name “sea horse” (haima) was left unexplained. During the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Xiqing Gujian (Catalogue of Ancient Mirrors in the Western Qing) registered it as a “sea beast and grape mirror”. In AD 1897, the Japanese scholar Miyake Yonekichi first determined it to be a Tang mirror based on archaeological evidence. According to the increasingly abundant burial excavation records of the modern era, the earliest mirrors of this type emerged from tombs dating to the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang; they achieved their peak popularity during the Wu Zhou period and gradually declined during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

Based on their decorative patterns, these mirrors can be classified into three categories, roughly in chronological order: first, mirrors with grape and vine branches; second, mirrors with auspicious beasts and grapes; and third, mirrors with auspicious beasts, phoenixes (luanfeng), and grapes. The second category, mirrors with auspicious beasts and grapes, can be further subdivided into two types: the first type features a circular knob and boss, a double serrated band, and a higher ridge separating the inner and outer designs, with the auspicious beasts galloping around the knob; the second type features an animal-shaped knob, where the auspicious beasts clamber through the grapevines, and the outer zone includes flowers and butterflies in addition to birds.

The use of mirrors in China can be traced back to the Qijia Culture in the Gansu region, circa 2400 to 1600 BC. Historiographical records can be traced back to the 21st year of Duke Zhuang of Lu (673 BC), at which time “the Earl of Zheng entertained the King, and the King presented him with the Queen’s panjian“. Commentators interpret panjian as a ribbon-bound mirror worn on the person.

During the early phase of the Tang Dynasty, bronze mirrors largely inherited the archaising styles of the Han and Six Dynasties, featuring concentric and symmetrical arrangements of the Four Auspicious Creatures (Sishen) and the Twelve Zodiac Animals; consequently, their stylistic evolution was relatively slow. It was not until the second half of the 7th century AD (the reigns of Emperor Gaozong to Wu Zetian) that, accompanied by an open worldview and the influx of cultures from the Western Regions, an abundance of new subject matter emerged. The decorative motifs became endlessly varied, mirroring and complementing contemporary silk textiles, gold and silverware, and paintings. The focus shifted from the previous mythical beasts to floral patterns, scrolling vines, birds, terrestrial animals, hunting scenes, and polo matches, alongside themes reflecting human ideals. Furthermore, asymmetrical, painting-like compositions began to appear. By the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras of the High Tang, the art of bronze mirrors entered a period of maturity and innovation. The style shifted from intricate complexity to natural elegance, with compositions becoming more succinct, rounded, and naturalistic. The shapes of the mirrors also evolved from the traditional circular form to include eight-lobed rhombic (water-caltrop) and mallow-shaped mirrors.

物件編號: X72

年代: 約公元 649-705 年

材料: 青銅

尺寸: 130 x 130 x 8.8 mm

重量: 425 g

來源: 大阪南美術会館 2008

這是一面唐代瑞獸葡萄紋青銅鏡。

鏡面光素。鏡背中央為球形鈕，鈕座為寬而淺的圓環。圖像則為環狀排列，以一圓環隔為內外兩層。內圈有三隻高浮雕之瑞獸，繞鈕奔行。瑞獸造型與隋末唐初鏡上之狻猊形似，是來自印度、波斯等地的瑞獸圖樣，該形象則起源自獅子。瑞獸周圍則簇擁著葡萄果串與藤蔓。分隔內外圖樣的圓環為外高內低的雙層，中間為向外的鋸齒紋。外側的圖樣為七隻不同姿態的飛鳥，其中一些形似孔雀，具有帚狀的較大羽毛。周圍同樣簇擁著葡萄果串與藤蔓。邊緣處為雙層鋸齒紋飾，外疏內密。

瑞獸葡萄鏡長期被日本學者稱為「多謎之鏡」與「凝結了歐亞大陸文明之鏡」，因其瑞獸與葡萄蔓紋型態均少見於中國古鏡。最早的文獻記載源自北宋《宣和博古圖錄》，定名為漢代「海馬葡萄鑑」，但為何定名「海馬」，則未說明。清乾隆年間《西清古鑑》則名為「海獸葡萄鑑」。公元1897年，日本學者三宅米吉則據考古證據，始斷定其為唐鏡。依近代以來逐漸豐富的墓葬發掘紀錄，最早的瑞獸葡萄鏡出自唐高宗年間墓葬，在武周年間最為盛行，在唐玄宗年間漸衰。

瑞獸葡萄鏡依圖樣可分為三類，一為葡萄蔓枝鏡，二為瑞獸葡萄鏡，三為瑞獸鸞鳳葡萄鏡，大致依年代為序。瑞獸葡萄鏡又可分為兩種，第一種為圓鈕及鈕座，二重齒紋圈，相隔內外側圖樣的環較高，瑞獸繞鈕奔馳；第二類為獸鈕，瑞獸則攀緣葡萄蔓枝，外側除禽鳥外，有些更有花蝶類紋飾。

中國對於鏡的使用最早可以追溯到公元前2400至1600年左右甘肅地區的齊家文化，史籍的紀載則可以追溯到魯莊公二十一年(公元前673年)，其時「鄭伯之享王也，王以后之鞶鑒予之」，有注家釋義，鞶鑒為繫帶之鏡，以隨身佩帶。

初唐銅鏡早期多沿襲漢朝及六朝以來的環繞對稱四神、十二生肖等復古風格，發展較為緩慢；直到7世紀下半葉（高宗至武則天時期），隨着開放的世界觀和西域文化的輸入，新題材大量湧現，文飾千變萬化，與當時的絲織、金銀器及繪畫交相輝映，從之前的神獸轉化為花卉、蔓藤、飛禽走獸、狩獵打馬毬，以及展現人物理想的題材，並開始出現非對稱的，如畫作一般的圖樣；到了開元、天寶盛唐之際，銅鏡藝術步入成熟與創新期，風格由繁縟轉為自然優雅，構圖更趨精簡、圓潤且講求寫生，鏡形亦由傳統圓鏡發展出八流、八瓣的菱花形與葵花形鏡。