Mirror

Historical period(s)
Eastern Zhou dynasty, 5th-3rd century BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diam x D: 11.7 x 0.5 cm (4 5/8 x 3/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1974.120
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Mirror
Type

Mirror

Keywords
China, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE)
Provenance

Around 1937 to 1962
James Marshall Plumer (1899-1960) and Caroline (Carol) L. Plumer (1901-1995), Ann Arbor, Michigan purchased the mirror while living in China [1]

From 1962
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Caroline Plumer, Ann Arbor, Michigan through Frank Caro, C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York, NY [2]

Notes:

[1] See letters dated from July 1961 to August 1966, exchanged between John Pope, Mrs. James Marshall Plumer (Caroline) and C. T. Loo Chinese Art (under direction of Frank Caro), copies in object file. In the Plumer's collection, the object was inventoried as "37-1-2-1: Bronze Mirror, Late Chou to Early Han." The "37" prefix in the Plumer inventory number suggests an acquisition year of 1937.

[2] See note 1. Mrs. Plumer and Mr. Pope had special arrangement regarding the payment for this mirror and others, which stretched over a 5-year period. In 1974, the mirror was transferred from the Freer Study Collection to the Permanent Collection. See Curatorial Remark 9 in the object record and object file.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

James Marshall Plumer 1899-1960
Caroline L. Plumer 1901-1995
Frank Caro 1904-1980
C.T. Loo Chinese Art 1953-1961

Published References
  • Julia Murray. A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980. Exh. cat. Washington, 1979. cat. 8, pp. 17-18.
  • Thomas Lawton. Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C. Washington, 1982-1983. cat. 40, p. 86.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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