Zheng with Two-column Studs (Bronze bell with studs)

Generally well preserved. Slightly chipped and broken with a few corroded holes. Made of bronze, with brown colour on the surface. This instrument was crudely made. Similarly to other bronze bells, the body of this instrument is shaped like a combined pair of tiles. The underside (wu) is flat and the two xian points are straight. The bottom rim (yu) is curved. The tubular handle (yong) is short. There are 3 holes on the wu. The decorative patterns on the surface are shaped like the character “?”? replacing the areas (zhuan) between the studs and the central panel (zheng) that are commonly seen in other bells. The vertical stroke in the middle of “?” is decorated with multi-lined angular shape patterns; the two horizontal strokes of “?” are decorated with horizontal figure 8 patterns, which are made up of triple lines. This design is quite unusual. There are 8 studs on the front of the bell and 8 studs on the back. The studs are placed in rows of 8 and are of three-tiered column shape. The back of the bell has the same patterns as the front. This type of zheng resembles the shape and structure of a yongzhong bell, and is likely to be a music instrument used by the Yue people in Hunan region during the Spring and Autumn period.