Dōtaku (Bronze Bell)
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.
Artwork Details
- 銅鐸
- Title: Dōtaku (Bronze Bell)
- Period: Yayoi period (ca. 300 BCE–300 CE)
- Date: 1st–2nd century
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: H. 43 1/2 in. (110.5 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1918
- Object Number: 18.68
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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8805. Dōtaku (Bronze Bell)
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Japanese
1st century BC
Vietnam
late 2nd–3rd century
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1st to mid-2nd century
China
dated 486 (10th year of Taihe reign)
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9th century
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