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Zixing Swan Hill Nao (Bronze nao with cloud pattern and studs)

Well preserved. Made of bronze, with light green colour on the surface. The body of the bell is long and thin, and is shaped like a combined pair of tiles. The underside (wu) is flat and the two xian points are straight. The tubular rod named yong (handle) is short, hollow in the middle and is connected to the inside of the body. The cross-section of the yong is round in shape. The yong has a raised collar (xuan), which does not have a lug (xuanchong) attached for hanging the bell. The body of the bell is trapezoid shaped when viewed from the front. The curve of the mouth (yu) is slightly larger than on other bells. There are 36 columnar studs.on the body of the bell. The spaces between the studs and the xuan are decorated with cloud patterns. The centre of the gu features stylised kui motifs [Kui is a one-legged monster]. These designs are similar to the ones found on the stamped hard pottery excavated from the Zhouzitou Yue site in the Hengyang suburb. This nao is from the same period as the bronze nao excavated from Zixing City (as described above). As this instrument does not have a lug for hanging the bell on the raised collar of the handle, it still belongs to the nao family.

  • Culture:
  • Period:
  • Materials:Bronze
  • Specific materials/techniques:
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  • Inscriptions:
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:111.242.11 (Individual) resting bells
  • Repository:Hunan Museum
  • Measurements:Total height: 38.0cm, mid-body length: 22.2cm, weight: 9.6kg, horizontal diameter of the wu: 19.3cm, vertical diameter of the wu: 14.2cm, distance between the two xian points: 24.0cm, length of the xian: 25.7cm, thickness of the middle of the gu: 0.8cm, distance between the two sides of the centre of the gu: 10.0cm, length of the yong: 11.8cm, height of each stud: 1.5cm