Tang Sirui's Animal Grape Mirror Picture Appreciation of Decorative Patterns with Ancient Copper Coins of More than 50,000 Yuan

Bronze mirror is a very practical daily appliance. However, with the development of society and the continuous improvement of spiritual civilization, people pay more and more attention to the decorative art of bronze mirrors, especially the diversity of modeling and decoration, which makes this kind of daily utensils in life decorative again. In the hands of modern people, the practicality of bronze mirror has faded or disappeared, and it has become a cultural relic appreciation product with historical, artistic and scientific value. Its function has changed from appreciating people to being appreciated.

During the Tang Dynasty, the feudal society in China entered its heyday, with political stability and economic prosperity, which promoted the unprecedented development of culture and art in the Tang Dynasty. The tang dynasty bronze mirror not only has beautiful and diverse shapes, but also has vivid decorative patterns, and attaches great importance to decorative beauty. At the same time, the subject matter is also diverse and novel, and the expression techniques are also colorful and unique. Not only has accurate realistic skills, but also uses the expression skills of arts and crafts patterns. Poetry, calligraphy and painting in this period are not only famous in the world, but also influenced the contemporary. Bronze mirrors with excellent texture, fine production, diverse shapes, magnificence and colorful patterns are still loved by collectors, especially Ruishou Grape Mirror, which makes people fondle it.

We know that the origin of grapes is in the Black Sea, the eastern Mediterranean coast, Central Asia and West Asia, and grapes were planted in the western part of China in the pre-Qin period. During the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions and introduced Dawan grape varieties to the Central Plains, and the scale of grape planting in the mainland gradually expanded. Bronze mirrors with grape patterns first appeared in the Six Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, the use of grape patterns gradually expanded, and the combination of Swiss animal patterns and grape patterns also appeared on bronze mirrors at this time. Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, designated the 5th of August every year, that is, his birthday, as the Millennium Festival, stipulating that princes and ministers should present mirrors, and he also gave golden mirrors to officials with more than four products. Due to the needs of the rulers of the Tang Dynasty, the casting technology of bronze mirrors advanced by leaps and bounds, and various craft mirrors competed for each other, reaching the peak in the history of the development of bronze mirrors in China, among which Ruishou Grape Mirror was the best. There is a four-Swiss-beast grape mirror in the tang dynasty bronze mirror collected by Weishi, which has a strong artistic appeal.

As shown in the figure, the mirror is circular, with a weight of 4 10g, a diameter of 109mm and a thickness of 10mm. Beast button, a double-line high circle and a thin-line high circle divide the mirror back into three areas: inner, middle and outer. In the inner area, four Swiss beasts surround the animal button in the same direction. Between the vines of the grapes, one is a howling wolf, the other is a roaring lion, and there are two kirins, one male and one female. Four wild animals run in the same direction around the animal button under the shade of grapes. Interestingly, the male unicorn makes a phone call, and the female unicorn turns, and her eyes are opposite and vivid. Between every two big beasts, there is a small beast, including two monkeys crawling on a grape branch, a squirrel hanging on a grape branch, a prone jade rabbit, and interestingly, it also carries a small rabbit. The periphery of the Swiss beast is thick and moist leaves and fruit-laden grapes intertwined vertically. Among the many vines and vines in the central area, there are birds and Swiss beasts of different shapes. Among the birds, there are some who spread their wings and fly, some who stand on the branches and look up, some who spread their wings and fly, some who hold their heads high and sing, some who bow their heads, some who turn their heads and lie prone, and some cicadas who sing. There are galloping horses, chasing wild animals, running rabbits, and a warrior in armor waving behind the wild animals. The outer area is a continuous undulating grass flower pattern.

From the above description, it is not difficult to see that the exquisite ornamentation of this mirror contains rare birds and animals at home and abroad, and grapes are also imported, so it has high historical value, fully reflecting the political and economic strength of the Tang Dynasty empire and the influence of cultural diplomacy, and showing the image of openness, tolerance, generosity and calmness in the Tang Dynasty.

The combination of birds, animals and people interspersed in grape ornamentation has great ideographic function and shows the harmonious beauty of nature. Swiss birds and animals with different shapes make the picture lively, especially the unicorn with four eyes opposite and naive makes the whole picture interesting.

The theme ornamentation and expression of mirrors are also significantly different, and the layout of ornamentation patterns is unique. It not only inherits China's traditional symmetrical expression technique, but also skillfully places Swiss animals and birds in the central area with scattered patterns, and hangs grapes on the back of the mirror in a fancy way, which looks so elegant and beautiful without usurping the role of the master.

This mirror is cast in semi-relief, which not only has a strong three-dimensional sense, but also is more ornamental. This form was rare before the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, this kind of four-Rui beast grape mirror not only has high historical and artistic value, but also should be a standard dating instrument.