Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Medium:
Bronze
Dimensions:
H x W: 66.4 x 47 cm (26 1/8 x 18 1/2 in)
Weight: 62 kg (136.7 lb)
Type:
Musical Instrument
Origin:
Houma foundry, Shanxi province, China
Date:
ca. 500--450 BCE
Period:
Eastern Zhou dynasty, late Spring and Autumn period
Description:
Bell of the type chung [chn] decorated with casting in relief. Finial of two winged dragons. Pale green patination with granular incrustations. The type of bell is a "bo zhong."
Provenance:
From 1939 to 1941
C. T. Loo & Company, New York from at least March 1939 [1]
From 1941
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on September 29, 1941 [2]
Notes:
[1] See C. T. Loo's stockcard no. 81926a: "Bell (chung) Bottom decorated by a panel of turning dragons pattern. Large bosses formed by coiled snakes separated by registers of intertwined dragons motives. Handle formed by 2 birds, swallowing the tail with spreaded wings over an intertwined snakes pattern. Rough green patina. Late Chou," C. T. Loo & Frank Caro Archive, Musée Guimet, Paris, copy in object file. The object was sent to the Freer Gallery for examination on May 2, 1939.
[2] See C. T. Loo's invoice, dated September 29, 1941, copy in object file.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Resound: Ancient Bells of China (October 14, 2017 - July 5, 2021)
Virtue and Entertainment: Chinese Music in the Visual Arts (October 1, 2005 to May 29, 2006)
Music in the Age of Confucius (April 30 to September 17, 2000)
Chinese Art (February 18, 1983 to April 1, 1987)
Chinese Art (March 15, 1982 to June 15, 1982)
Untitled Exhibition, South Corridor (March 6, 1981 to May 7, 1984)
Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
Chinese Bronze, Jade, Metalwork (March 1, 1957 to January 1, 1963)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1955 (August 26, 1955 to October 25, 1955)
Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1946 (May 7, 1946 to February 25, 1956)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1944 (November 15, 1944 to May 6, 1946)
Previous custodian or owner:
C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)
Topic:
casting  Search this
metal  Search this
bronze  Search this
bird  Search this
dragon  Search this
Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE)  Search this
Spring and Autumn period (770 - 476 BCE)  Search this
China  Search this
Chinese Art  Search this
Credit Line:
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Accession Number:
F1941.9
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Related Online Resources:
Google Cultural Institute
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye36bcc537a-88bb-4b5f-91ea-5bf661f6ea06
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_F1941.9