Lot 34
A COPPER ALLOY RITUAL BELL (LONTJENG) JAVA, 13TH/15TH CENTURY
29 March 2018, 16:00 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific PlaceHK$40,000 - HK$60,000
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A COPPER ALLOY RITUAL BELL (LONTJENG)
JAVA, 13TH/15TH CENTURY
14 cm (5 ½ in). high
14 cm (5 ½ in). high
Footnotes
爪哇 十三至十五世紀 金剛鈴
Provenance:
Mark Gordon Collection, Singapore
Private Collection, Singapore
As noted by Kossak, 'A vajraghanta bell is a bell with a handle in the shape of a vajra and is the most sacred of bells. The vajra seen at the top of the bell is similar to those found in Tibet and used by high-ranking priests' (Lerner and Kossak, The Lotus Transcendent, New York 1991, no. 165, p. 208). The great care taken with the production of Javanese bronze bells suggests they were highly important to religious life. They were produced in many forms, and the ringing of the bell invokes and summons the gods and calls worshippers to prayer. Javanese bells were used in both Hindu and Buddhist rituals. A comparable vajraghanta hand bell is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, ibid, no.167, p.210 and another sold at Christie's, London, 20-21 November 1990, lot 82.