Mirror with Lotus and Mantra (1271–1368): Art, History and Details

Mirror with Lotus and Mantra (1271–1368) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This mirror features intricate Buddhist designs. Around the central knob are four leaves, a ring of tiny beads, and then a circle made up of small lotus flower designs. Outside of that are eight big petal shapes, inside each is a Sanskrit letter. The mirror has the phrase "In the name of Om mani padme hum" written in a slightly incorrect form of Sanskrit, possibly because the Chinese mirror maker was not familiar with the language.

Object facts

• Title: Mirror with Lotus and Mantra
• Date: 1271–1368
• Culture: China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: bronze
• Dimensions: Diameter: 22.3 cm (8 3/4 in.); Overall: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); Rim: 0.7 cm (1/4 in.)
• Collection: China - Yuan Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1999.221

A detail from the museum

A mantra, or meditative statement, is embedded in the petals of the lotus flower on the mirror's back.

Collection credit

Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, “Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Rare Chinese Paintings, Baroque Porcelain Plaque and Other New Acquisitions Exhibited with Hanging Scrolls,” December 20, 1999, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
• Chou, Ju-hsi. Circles of reflection: the Carter collection of Chinese bronze mirrors. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.