Ceramic 'chunyu' bell
5th-4th century BCE
Description
Tall upright form with circular cross-section, with straight sides rising to rounded shoulders, surmounted by a flat platform top with neatly finished raised edge and thick loop handle of arched form at the center; the open base slightly flared; decorated on shoulders with a double band of twin scroll motifs impressed above an engraved single line border; gray stoneware body covered with a thin olive-green glaze unevenly applied and showing mottled reddish brown coloration in some exposed areas due to oxidation during firing. The form simulates a type of bronze bell known as chunyu, which were hollow, clapper-less, and struck to emit their sounds.
Dimensions
H. 36.2 x Diam. 21.5 cm (14 1/4 x 8 7/16 in.)
Provenance
[J.J. Lally & Co., New York, March 2001] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2001-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
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