A VERY RARE BRONZE MIRROR WITH ICHTHYOMORPHIC HANDLE, ANGKOR WAT STYLE, 12TH CENTURY

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A VERY RARE BRONZE MIRROR WITH ICHTHYOMORPHIC HANDLE, ANGKOR WAT STYLE, 12TH CENTURY This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve Khmer Empire, Angkor period. Skillfully cast and polished, the circular mirror, slightly concave in section with a raised border, attached to an elongated handle terminating in a stylized fish-tail form, and intricately decorated in high relief on both sides, centered by an image of three-headed Ganesha, surrounded by stylized floral motifs and beaded ornamentation. Important Note: For essential information on the Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger Dimensions: Length 33.8 cm Bronze mirrors were significant objects in Khmer culture. They appear to have enjoyed particular popularity during the twelfth century and are depicted in the raised hands of apsaras (celestial maidens) carved in relief on the walls of Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. The motif of an apsara holding a mirror is well attested in early Indian sculpture, where the mirror symbolized the beauty of its holder and may also have functioned as an offering to a deity. This iconographic theme, together with the mirror type itself, was likely introduced into the Khmer artistic repertoire through long-distance contact with Indian sculptural traditions, given the close correspondences that are unlikely to be coincidental. Literature comparison: Compare a related bronze mirror, Angkor period, Angkor Wat style, 12th century, 21 cm diameter, illustrated in Emma C. Bunker and Douglas Latchford, Adoration and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art, 2004, p. 374-376, no. 136b.

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