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Xinhua Bell-shaped Zheng (Bronze bell with studs)

Preserved in good condition. The colour is dark green. The body of the bell resembles a zhong bell and is shaped like a combined pair of tiles. The body is nearly rectangular shaped when viewed from the front. The underside (wu) is flat and the two xian points are straight. The mouth (yu) is slightly curved. The handle (yong) is shaped like a flattened tube and has a ring (niu) around one end. This ring is decorated with double-stranded cord patterns. The underside (wu) is decorated with cloud and thunder patterns, which include thick lines and interlocking circles. The framing lines around the centre panel (zheng) and the gu are all cast in low relief. There are no zhuan (areas between the studs). Unlike other bells, this bell has a total of 20 studs (raised half-spheres) placed symmetrically around the body in four groups of five, each group is arranged in the shape of a plum blossom. There are two groups on the front of the bell and two groups on the back. The studs are decorated with cloud patterns and fine dots. The decorative patterns around the areas between the studs and on the underside are similar - interlaced snake decorations with great detail. There are multi-line angular shaped leaf patterns under the string patterns above the gu and under the central panel (zheng). The shape, structure and pattern of this bell are quite special. This type of bell is rarely seen in Chu bronze ware.

  • Measurements:Total height: 31.5cm, mid-body length: 19.0cm, horizontal diameter of the wu: 12.3cm, vertical diameter of the wu: 8.6cm, distance between the two sides of the centre of the gu: 10.0cm, thickness of the middle of the gu: 0.4cm, length of the yong: 10.0cm, diameter of the niu: 3.7cm, width of the bottom of the yong: 3.3cm, thickness of the top of the yong: 1.1cm, thickness of the bottom of the yong: 2.5cm, distance between the two xian points: 14.1cm, length of the xian: 15.0cm, weight: 1.7kg