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Lot Essay
Heavily cast gilt-bronze bells of this type, known as bianzhong, took their inspiration from archaic bronzes of the Western Zhou dynasty (1100-771 BC). The best known archaic prototypes are those excavated from the tomb of the Marquis Zeng, now in the Hubei Provincial Museum, illustrated by Lothar von Falkenhausen, Suspended Music: Chime Bells in the Culture of Bronze Age China, California, 1993, p. 6. In the Qing dynasty, the imperial court closely followed Confucian ideals as set out in ancient Chinese classics such as the Book of the Zhou (Zhou Li) which advocated that rituals should commence with music. In the Qing dynasty, bianzhong were produced for the court and became an essential part of court ritual musical instruments. They were played during ceremonies at the imperial altars (in particular, the Temple of Heaven and Temple of Agriculture) and during formal banquets and state rites.
The present bell is part of a graduated set of sixteen, each of which is cast with varied thicknesses to provide a range of twelve standard musical tones with four additional repeated notes in lower octaves. Each bell is cast on one side with its respective musical tons, opposite the reign mark, and together they appear in the following sequence: 1st, huangzhong; 2nd, dalu; 3rd, taicu; 4th, jiazhong; 5th, guxi; 6th, zhonglu; 7th, ruibin; 8th, lingzhong; 9th, yize; 10th, nanlu (as cast on the present bell); 11th, Wuyi; and 12th, yingzhong. In Chinese musicology, the twelve main tones alternately provide a Yang, positive, and Yin, negative note. The four repeated bells of lower octaves, thus making up the total of sixteen, are pei yize, pei nanlu, pei wuyi, pei yingzhong.
All sixteen bianzhong would have been suspended in two tiers of eight attached to tall wooden frames, as depicted in a court painting by Guiseppe Castiglione entitled: 'Imperial Banquet in Wanshu Garden', illustrated by Chuimei Ho and Bennet Bronson, Splendors of China's Forbidden City, The Field Museum, Chicago, p. 52, pl. 42. The bells are arranged in accordance to their thickness and respective musical tone. A carillion of sixteen bells is illustrated in Life in the Forbidden City of Qing Dynasty, The Forbidden City Publishing House, 2007, p. 50, no. 50.
There appear to be two groups of these gilt-bronze bells dating to the Kangxi period: the first, dated to the 52nd year (1713) and the second group to the 54th year (1715). Examples of bells from the 52nd year of Kangxi include a group of five in the Audrey B. Love Collection sold at Christie's New York, 20 October 2004, lot 455. Three other bells have been sold at auction: a guxi bell (5th tone), Christie's New York, 29 November 1984, lot 554; a lingzhong bell (8th tone), Sotheby's London, 30 March 1978, lot 60; and a wushe bell (11th tone) from the Lord and Lady Hesketh collection was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 9 October 2007, lot 1327.
The present bell is part of a graduated set of sixteen, each of which is cast with varied thicknesses to provide a range of twelve standard musical tones with four additional repeated notes in lower octaves. Each bell is cast on one side with its respective musical tons, opposite the reign mark, and together they appear in the following sequence: 1st, huangzhong; 2nd, dalu; 3rd, taicu; 4th, jiazhong; 5th, guxi; 6th, zhonglu; 7th, ruibin; 8th, lingzhong; 9th, yize; 10th, nanlu (as cast on the present bell); 11th, Wuyi; and 12th, yingzhong. In Chinese musicology, the twelve main tones alternately provide a Yang, positive, and Yin, negative note. The four repeated bells of lower octaves, thus making up the total of sixteen, are pei yize, pei nanlu, pei wuyi, pei yingzhong.
All sixteen bianzhong would have been suspended in two tiers of eight attached to tall wooden frames, as depicted in a court painting by Guiseppe Castiglione entitled: 'Imperial Banquet in Wanshu Garden', illustrated by Chuimei Ho and Bennet Bronson, Splendors of China's Forbidden City, The Field Museum, Chicago, p. 52, pl. 42. The bells are arranged in accordance to their thickness and respective musical tone. A carillion of sixteen bells is illustrated in Life in the Forbidden City of Qing Dynasty, The Forbidden City Publishing House, 2007, p. 50, no. 50.
There appear to be two groups of these gilt-bronze bells dating to the Kangxi period: the first, dated to the 52nd year (1713) and the second group to the 54th year (1715). Examples of bells from the 52nd year of Kangxi include a group of five in the Audrey B. Love Collection sold at Christie's New York, 20 October 2004, lot 455. Three other bells have been sold at auction: a guxi bell (5th tone), Christie's New York, 29 November 1984, lot 554; a lingzhong bell (8th tone), Sotheby's London, 30 March 1978, lot 60; and a wushe bell (11th tone) from the Lord and Lady Hesketh collection was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 9 October 2007, lot 1327.