Decorative objects · Animals · Catalog HV6E9TTI

Mirror with Animals and Birds

Unknown creator · early 700s

The silver inset of this mirror back was decorated with several hand-beaten techniques. High-relief birds, beasts, and foliage were hammered from the underside (repoussé) and finely chiseled on the front (chased). The background and border were punched with a metal stamp of tiny circles. Mirrors of this precious material, diminutive size, and starlike form number among the most refined products of Tang metalworkers. Some historians suggest that miniature mirrors were specific