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Bell (Nao)

Bell (Nao)

Artist/Maker
Dateca. 14th century BCE
MediumBronze
DimensionsOverall: 5 7/8 × 2 1/2 × 3 9/16 in. (14.9 × 6.4 × 9 cm)
Credit LineR. T. Miller Jr. Fund
Object number1946.26
Status
On view
More Information
The náo was a bell used in religious rituals during China’s Shang Dynasty (ca. 1600 BC–ca. 1046 BC). It was held upright with the handle, and played with a mallet. A zoomorphic motif known as the “animal mask” design appears on the bell’s face. This was one of the most frequent decorations on Shang dynasty vessels, usually including horns, wide-set eyes, a snout, and open jaws. No surviving records from the period reference this motif, so its specific meaning remains a mystery.
Provenance(Jan Kleijkamp and Ellis Monroe, New York); purchased 1946 by Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OHExhibition History
When Words Meet Pictures: East Asian Painting and Sculpture
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 25, 1994 - November 15, 1994 )
Chinese Art: Culture and Context
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 2, 2002 - June 2, 2002 )
Chinese and Japanese Art from Antiquity to the Present
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 17, 2002 - June 9, 2003 )
Asian Art and the Allen: American Collectors in the Early 20th Century
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 19, 2014 - July 12, 2015 )
Collections
  • On View
  • Asian
The AMAM continually researches its collection and updates its records with new findings.
We welcome additional information and suggestions for improvement. Please email us at AMAMcurator@oberlin.edu.