China, 581-907. Of circular form, finely cast with a central domed knop encircled by a raised inscription of an eight-character poem, surrounded by the animals of the four directions, dragon, phoenix, tiger and snake-coiled turtle, the outer well with the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac enclosed by a band of sawtooth, all below the canted rim.

Inscriptions: Encircling the central knop, ‘Guang zheng sui ren, yi xin’ (‘Illuminating uprightness pleasing people, long life for renewal’)

Provenance: From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York. The front with an old label from the Hartman’s inscribed with Alan Hartman’s dating for the present lot, ‘Tang’, and numbered ‘CB 328’. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an influential American art dealer, who took over his parents’ antique business in Manhattan and established the legendary Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) already served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before the couple married in 1975, and together they built a renowned collection for over half a century and became noted art patrons, enriching the collections of important museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (which opened the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries in 2013) as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum in New York. Alan Hartman has been described as the greatest antiques dealer of our generation, and was widely recognized as a world authority in Chinese jade, bronzes, and Asian works of art.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear, casting irregularities, an old fatigue crack, minuscule nicks, light scratches. The silvery bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with malachite and cuprite encrustations.

Weight: 1.1 kg
Dimensions: Diameter 21.4 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related bronze mirror with zodiac animals and the same inscription as the present lot, dated to the Sui dynasty, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, image number C1A000347N000000000PAB, illustrated in Reflections of the Emperor: The Collection and Culture of Mirrors at the Qing Court, Taipei, 2015, pp. 70-71, no. I-24, where the author notes two bronze mirrors of this type unearthed from Sui dynasty tombs. Note the same inscription enclosing the central knop.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 18 March 2014, lot 193
Price: USD 15,000 or approx. EUR 19,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze ‘spirits of the four directions’ mirror, Sui dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, decoration, and motifs. Note that while scattered malachite and cuprite encrustations are present in this example, the patina is not as strong as on the present lot.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams San Francisco, 21 November 2005, lot 9194
Price: USD 5,875 or approx. EUR 9,200 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A fine cast bronze mirror, Sui dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and decoration. Note the size (17.4 cm).