Mirror with TLV Pattern and Beast Motif
- Date
-
制作年 AD1
- Title
- ホウカクキクジュウモンキョウ
- Materials, techniques and shape
- 銅
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Keio Museum Commons Campus Mita
Round mirrors with a central square made their first appearance toward the end of the Former Han Dynasty and were cast in large numbers during the early part of the Later Han Dynasty. In fact, they can be called the typical cast mirror of the time. A pattern using the shapes of a T, inverted L, and V, or the famous TLV design, often decorates these ancient mirrors and is strategically placed at the four corners, along each side, or at the places opposite the four apexes of the square. These mirrors are often called “TLV mirrors.” Some scholars give cosmological significance to the TLV pattern, saying that it symbolizes the universe. Other scholars claim that it simply developed from a board on which an ancient game of checkers was played. Even if true, the rules of the game have since been lost, and the significance of the square pattern cannot be verified. The four sides of the square were often decorated with various motifs. Relatively old mirrors from the Former Han Dynasty were decorated with smooth dragons with open mouths or plant leaves with no base pattern, but the most popular round mirrors with a central square, as the one seen here, were decorated with the four divine creatures—the Red Phoenix, Black Tortoise, Blue Dragon, and White Tiger. After placing the four creatures in the four corners of the mirror, the spaces in between were filled with drawings of birds and beasts. In some, the four divine creatures were replaced by four beasts. In such cases, the mirror is described as “a mirror with TLV pattern and beast motif.”
Overview
Rights
Depository and ID
Components
OPEN DATADESIGN
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Details
Identifiers
- Title (EN)
- Mirror with TLV Pattern and Beast Motif
Physical description
- Weights and quantities
-
Quantity 1面
- Attachments
- 緋毛氈／ダンボール箱内に布貼り箱
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