塔鈴・金剛盤|Bell with Pagoda-Shaped Handle (Tōrei) and Three-Footed Stand (Kongōban)

Unknown

13th century · Gilt bronze · Asian Art

Bells used in Esoteric Buddhist rituals often had handles shaped like vajra (thunderbolt) ritual tools with five prongs. This one, however, is equipped with a handle that represents a pagoda formed of the five elements of the cosmos. Earth, at the base, is a square; water a sphere; fire a pyramid; wind a half-moon; and air, at the peak, a jewel.

Artist

Unknown

Date

13th century

Medium

Gilt bronze

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975