銅鐸|Dōtaku (Bronze Bell)

Unknown

1st–2nd century · Bronze · Asian Art

Produced during the late Yayoi period, the distinctive clapperless Japanese bronze bells known as dōtaku are thought to derive from earlier, smaller Korean examples that adorned horses and other domesticated animals. Dōtaku were buried, singly, in pairs, and in large groups—occasionally with bronze mirrors and weapons—in isolated locations, often on hilltops, perhaps to ensure a community’s agricultural fertility. Later dōtaku had relatively thin walls and would not have resonated, so it assumed their purpose was primarily ritual.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1st–2nd century

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1918