A SMALL BRONZE BELL, ZHONG

LATE WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 8TH-7TH CENTURY BC

Details

A SMALL BRONZE BELL, ZHONG
LATE WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 8TH-7TH CENTURY BC
Of lenticular section, each side cast with alternating bands of projecting nipples and pairs of dragons in thread relief flanking a plain central panel, above confronted scrolled dragons, the flat top with four dragon scrolls, and the shank with rounded collar and angular suspension loop, the inner rim divided into eight segments with grooves between, with grey patina and light green encrustation
8 5/8 in. (22 cm.) high, lucite stand

Provenance

J.J. Lally & Co., New York, 5 March 1987.

Exhibited

Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1990, no. 51.
The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes, Singapore, 2000, no. 36.
Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 2002-2006.

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The manner in which the inner rim is cast may have had to do with adjustments to the tuning of the bell.
This bell would have been one of a set of bells of graduated sizes and different tones. Five of a set of similarly decorated Qin Gong bells, excavated at Taigongmiao, Baoji, Shaanxi province, dated to the 7th century BC, based on their inscriptions, are illustrated in Wenwu, 1978:11, pp. 1-5, pl. 1.

More from The Sze Yuan Tang Archaic Bronzes from the Anthony Hardy Collection

View All