- I

B-835

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 58.4; Larghezza: 27.5; Profondità: 22.8

Giappone, Provincia di Yamato (odierna Prefettura di Nara)

This ritual bell (dōtaku), whose site of origin is unknown, belongs to a type from the then Yamato region of Central Japan, of which only a few examples are known to be preserved in Japan. Initially, dōtaku were made with carved sandstone moulds, which were replaced in a later period by clay moulds that made it possible to create larger, thinner bells and finer, more complex decorations. The water-spiral motif (ryūsui-mon), alternating with a lattice cross-line pattern, is typical of the middle Yayoi period, the era to which the beginning of the Metal Age is dated. The ritual value of this find attests to the development of social and sedentary life, linked to the introduction of agriculture in the Yayoi period and marked by proto-religious propitiatory rituals. Bronze ritual bell (dōtaku) with designs of water spirals (ryūsui-mon) alternating with a lattice cross-line pattern typical of the middle Yayoi period.