Lot Essay
The inscription in the front panel between the raised knobs, which continues on to the lower part of the bell, can be read as follows: Zheng Jing shu zuo lingzhong yong suibin, or, roughly, "Zheng Jing (a lineage name) shu makes this numinous bell for the comfort of the guest." A number of bronzes bearing the lineage name Zheng Jing, or simply Jing, are known, and can be dated to the middle of the Western Zhou period, or ninth century B.C., in the reigns of King Mu and King Gong, according to Chen Mengjia. See Kaogu xuebao 1956, no. 4, pp. 107-110
A set of eight bells with similar style of decoration was excavated from a pit burial at Qijia village, Fufengxian, Shaanxi province, Shaanxi chutu Shang Zhou qingtongqi, vol. 2, Beijing, 1980, pls. 156-163
This bell appears to have been in the collection of Willem van Heusden, the Netherlands and illustrated by him in Ancient Chinese Bronzes of the Shang and Chou Dynasties, Tokyo, 1952, pl. XXXIII
A set of eight bells with similar style of decoration was excavated from a pit burial at Qijia village, Fufengxian, Shaanxi province, Shaanxi chutu Shang Zhou qingtongqi, vol. 2, Beijing, 1980, pls. 156-163
This bell appears to have been in the collection of Willem van Heusden, the Netherlands and illustrated by him in Ancient Chinese Bronzes of the Shang and Chou Dynasties, Tokyo, 1952, pl. XXXIII