A rare set of eight archaic graduated ritual bronze bells, bianzhong

Eastern Zhou Dynasty

Footnotes

東周 青銅夔龍紋鐘一組八件

Provenance: Vanderven Oriental Art, 's-Hertogenbosch, 31 March 2000
John J. Studzinski, CBE

來源：荷蘭斯海爾托亨博斯古董商，Vanderven Oriental Art，2000年3月31日
大英帝國司令勳章受勳者John J. Studzinski珍藏

Bells play an important role among the bronze objects cast during the Shang and Zhou dynasties where they served primarily in rituals worshipping the ancestors. They formed part of an orchestra that provided musical accompaniment to ritual dances and singing. Glimpses of Zhou ancestral ritual may be found in the shi jing (Classic of Poetry), a collection of songs and ritual hymns of Western and early Eastern Zhou date. The following poem describes the musicians and dancers in action:

'They strike the bells solemnly,
They play their se and qin zithers,
The reed-organs and the musical stones blend their sounds;
Accompanied by them they perform the Ya and Nan [dances],
They wield their flutes without error.'

According to the Zhouli (The Rites of Zhou), from the Eastern Zhou, only kings, marquises and other select members of the aristocracy were entitled to possess such bronze bells, which in turn symbolised social status becoming auspicious gifts among the aristocratic class. It is believed that these bells were made only with refined material on an auspicious day and their completion was celebrated with receptions where guests could enjoy the tunes and the original golden sheen of the newly cast bells; see Feng Guangsheng, 'Chime-bells. Musical Instruments', Artistic Style of Cultural Relics from the Tomb of Zenghouyi, Wuhan, 1991, p.158. See also B.Karlgren, The Book of Odes: Chinese Text, Transcription and Translation, Stockholm, 1950, pp.159-161; and L.Von Falkenhausen, Suspended Music: Chime - Bells in the Culture of Bronze Age China, London, 1993, pp.23-28.

Compare with a related set of seven ritual bronze bells, Western Zhou dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 20 March 2019, lot 663.