Monastery Bell

Unknown

1879 · Bronze · Musical Instruments

Cast in Shwebo, a town north of Mandalay, this monastery bell weighs approximately one hundred and fifty pounds and is part of an ancient tradition of elaborately adorned clapperless bronze hanging temple bells found throughout Southeast Asia and Indonesia. The support mounts, attached above a stylized and gilded double lotus design appearing on the bell's shoulder, take the form of two guardian simbas (mythical lions), while the suspension loop is cast to represent two makaras (Hindu water monster) whose tails meet to form a finial. On the bell's upper side a barely legible inscription gives the name of the donor. Collected by Felice Antonio Beato, an English photographer, this bell was saved from the ashes of a monastery fire witnessed by a slight discoloration on some of its surface.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1879

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Burmese

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889