Sea Animal Grape Mirror - Kaiju Grape Mirror

Chinese mirrors were popular in the 7th and 8th centuries. They got their name from the graphical motifs on the back of the mirror, which consist of grape arabesque and birds and animals. The knob in the center of the back of the mirror is often in the shape of an animal, and a narrow band of motif protrudes from the edge, dividing it into an inner and outer section. The inner section features 4 to 8 relatively large birds and animals with grape arabesque, while the outer section is also lined with grape arabesque with smaller birds and animals peeking through. The birds and animals include lions, leopards, sheep, Pegasus, peacocks, as well as mice, cats, and small birds, but none that can be determined to be sea animals. Since the Song and Qing dynasties, these have been called "Sea Horse Grape Mirror" and "Sea Animal Grape Mirror," but their origins are unknown. Many have been passed down to shrines and temples in Japan, including the fine items housed in the Shosoin Repository, and they are also famous for being included in the items buried in the core stone of the Five-Story Pagoda of Horyuji Temple and as grave goods in the Takamatsuzuka Tomb. Items with perfectly matching iconographic patterns have also been excavated from the Takamatsuzuka Tomb in Xi'an, China and elsewhere. Additionally, there are many crude imitations made in Japan in the 8th and 9th centuries that were made by reworking Chinese products.

[Tanaka Taku]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

7、8世紀に盛行した中国鏡。その名は、葡萄唐草文(からくさもん)と禽獣(きんじゅう)からなる鏡背(きょうはい)の図像文様による。鏡背中央の鈕(ちゅう)は多くが獣形をとり、周縁との間は突出した狭い文様帯で内外区に分けられている。内区には、4～8匹のやや大型の禽獣と葡萄唐草文を置き、外区にも小型の禽獣が見え隠れする葡萄唐草文を巡らす。禽獣は、獅子(しし)、豹(ひょう)、羊、天馬(てんま)、孔雀(くじゃく)などに鼠(ねずみ)や猫、あるいは小鳥類だが、海獣と確定しうるものはない。宋(そう)・清(しん)時代から「海馬葡萄鑑」や「海獣葡萄鑑」の名があるが、その由来は不明。正倉院蔵の優品をはじめ、わが国の社寺に伝世されたものが少なくなく、法隆寺五重塔心礎埋納物あるいは高松塚古墳副葬品に含まれていることでも有名である。高松塚古墳出土品には、図像文様が完全に一致するものが中国西安(せいあん)その他からも出土している。このほか、わが国では、8、9世紀に中国製品を踏み返して模造した粗製の仿製(ぼうせい)品も多い。

［田中　琢］

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