Octafoil Mirror with Two Immortals Crossing the Ocean (mid-900s–late 1200s): Art, History and Details

Octafoil Mirror with Two Immortals Crossing the Ocean (mid-900s–late 1200s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This mirror in the shape of a flower represents two immortals crossing the ocean, surrounded by surging waves. The younger figure on the left wears two buns on his head; the elder one with a long beard is carrying a musical instrument, sheng. The scene may illustrate “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Ocean,” in which their supernatural power to walk on water is depicted. The two men here stand on their swords to travel on water. In Daoist and Buddhist thinking, swords are considered powerful, magical implements to exorcise demons and destroy evil spirits.

Object facts

• Title: Octafoil Mirror with Two Immortals Crossing the Ocean
• Date: mid-900s–late 1200s
• Culture: China, Song dynasty (960-1279)
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: bronze
• Dimensions: Diameter: 17.6 cm (6 15/16 in.); Overall: 1 cm (3/8 in.); Rim: 0.6 cm (1/4 in.)
• Collection: China - Song Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1995.378

Collection credit

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

Further reading listed by the museum

• Chou, Ju-hsi. Circles of reflection: the Carter collection of Chinese bronze mirrors. Cleveland, Ohio: 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.