Suzanne Cahill, professor of history at the University of California, San Diego, discusses what the designs and patterns on Chinese bronze mirrors and related textiles tell us about the beliefs, desires, and fears of the privileged classes in early China from 450 B.C. to A.D. 907. Mirrors, considered luxury items, were used both in daily life and in burial to attract good fortune and ward off evil.
An important collection of ancient Chinese bronze mirrors spanning 3,000 years makes its first public appearance in an exhibition highlighting some 80 highly decorative pieces ranging in date from the Qijia Culture (2100–1700 B.C.) of pre- and early Chinese history, the Warring States period (450-221B.C.), and the Han (206 B.C.-220 A.D), Tang (618–906 A.D.), and Jin (1115-1234 A.D.) dynasties. Drawn from the collection of Lloyd Cotsen, a Los Angeles businessman, philanthropist, art collector, and member of The Huntington’s Board of Overseers, the exhibition reveals the exquisitely wrought designs and inscriptions that decorate the backs of the mirrors, exploring centuries of craftsmanship, aesthetic taste, dynastic change, philosophy, and consumer culture. Selected textile fragments provide additional social, historical, and cultural context for the bronzes. The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalog in two volumes as well as related lectures by leading scholars in the field.
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