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Bianbo with Dragon Loop (Bronze bells with snake designs and double-dragon loops) (5 bells)

Preserved in good condition. Made of bronze, with blue or light green colours on the surface. Due to being excavated objects, these instruments are covered in mud and patina. These 5 bells look similar and were previously grouped as a set. However, as the shapes of their suspension loops (niu) are quite different, they are probably not from the same set. Each bell has a slim body, which is shaped like a combined pair of tiles, and a flat bottom rim (yu). The upper surface (wu) is flat and has a double-dragon loop called niu. The upper surface, the areas (zhuan) between the studs and the gu are decorated with panchi patterns [in legend, panchi is a curled dragon without a horn]. There are 36 spiral studs on the surface of the body of each bell.

  • Measurements:Total height: 27.4cm, height of the niu: 7.0cm, width of the top of the niu: 5.4cm, width of the bottom of the niu: 12.3cm, horizontal diameter of the wu: 15.2cm, vertical diameter of the wu: 11.3cm, mid-body length: 20.0cm, distance between the two xian points: 16.8cm, distance between the two sides of the centre of the gu: 13.3cm, thickness of the middle of the gu: 0.55cm, weight: 2.2kg