Zheng with 24 studs (Bronze bell with studs)

Generally well preserved. Made of bronze, with light green colour on the surface. The body of the bell is shaped like a combined pair of tiles. The instrument is crudely made. The underside (wu) is flat and the two xian points are straight. The mouth (yu) is curved. The tubular handle (yong) is short and is solid in the middle. One side of the wu has a rectangular hole. Inside the wu there are marks left by the piece-mold casting technique. 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. There are 24 studs placed in four groups of six, each group featuring two rows of three, and the studs are of three-tiered column shape. The back of the bell has the same patterns as the front. The decorative patterns on this bell are quite unusual. This bell is likely to be a music instrument used by the Yue people during the Spring and Autumn period, before the Chu people occupied the Hunan region.