Lot Essay
The two characters wu she denotes a classical pitch corresponding in function to A-sharp.
Compare with bells of the same pattern also dated to the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi (1716), one sold in our New York Rooms, 30 November 1984, lot 554; and another in Hong Kong, 17 May 1989, lot 454.
A complete carillon of gilt bells from the Beijing Palace Museum was included in the Musee du Petit Palais exhibition, La Cite Interdite, Vie Publique et Privee des Empereurs de Chine 1644-1911, Paris, 1996-1997, Catalogue, p. 171. Another set used for Confucian ritual music is inside the Dacheng dian, Confucian Temple, Beijing, illustrated in 'The Preservation of Beijing's Confucian Temple, Orientations, vol. 26, July/August 1995, p. 63.
(US$20,000-25,000)
Compare with bells of the same pattern also dated to the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi (1716), one sold in our New York Rooms, 30 November 1984, lot 554; and another in Hong Kong, 17 May 1989, lot 454.
A complete carillon of gilt bells from the Beijing Palace Museum was included in the Musee du Petit Palais exhibition, La Cite Interdite, Vie Publique et Privee des Empereurs de Chine 1644-1911, Paris, 1996-1997, Catalogue, p. 171. Another set used for Confucian ritual music is inside the Dacheng dian, Confucian Temple, Beijing, illustrated in 'The Preservation of Beijing's Confucian Temple, Orientations, vol. 26, July/August 1995, p. 63.
(US$20,000-25,000)