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Zhong with Kui Dragon Design (Bronze bell)

The left xuan point of the bell was broken and missing, but has now been restored. Some studs might be broken or missing. Made of bronze, with an iron black colour on the surface. The bell was crudely cast. The upper surface (wu) is not flat and the two xuan points are not straight. The body of the bell is shaped like a combined pair of tiles. Lines in low relief are used as frames to define the central panel (zheng), the areas (zhuan) between the studs, the studs and the gu. The cylindrical handle (yong) has mud in the middle. No traces of polishing are found inside the body. The mouth (yu) has no inner lips. There are 36 studs of two-tiered columnar shape on the body of the bell. The upper surface (wu) and the gu are decorated with cloud and thunder patterns; the areas between the studs are decorated with triangle-shaped cloud and thunder patterns. The section of the body nearest the mouth of the bell is decorated with a dragon design.

  • Measurements:Total height: 33.1cm, horizontal diameter of the wu: 14.5cm, distance between the two xian points: 16.5cm, thickness of the middle of the gu: 0.5cm, length of the yong: 8.5cm, vertical diameter of the wu: 10.8cm, distance between the two sides of the centre of the gu: 11.5cm, thickness of the sides of the gu: 0.5cm, diameter of the top of the yong: 3.2cm, mid-body length: 20.0cm, height of each stud: 2.6cm, weight: 4.9kg, diameter of the bottom of the yong: 3.5cm, length of the xian: 25.2cm