Klang Bell
| Klang Bell | |
|---|---|
 Bronze bell from Klang, Malaysia on display at the British Museum | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Size | 58 cm High, 31 cm Diameter |
| Weight | 7.4 kg |
| Created | 200 BC |
| Present location | British Museum, London |
| Registration | 1949,0715.1 |
The Klang Bell is an ancient bronze
bell found in the city of Klang, Selangor state, western Malaysia. Estimated to date from the late Iron Age, the bell is a rare object of its genre and since 1949 has been part of the British Museum's Asian Collections.[1]
Discovery
Found with a number of iron tools in the city of Klang, the cast bronze artefact was one of three unearthed there; it is very similar to other bells that have been found in Battambang in Cambodia.[2] One bell has been dated to AD 150.[3]
Description
The Klang Bell has a high, narrow body crowned by a cup-like
Dong Son drums that were produced in large quantities in Vietnam
and elsewhere in southeast Asia between 600 BC and the third century AD, and are some of the region's finest examples of metalworking from this period.
Gallery
-
Detail of the bell from Klang
References
Further reading
- J. Rawson, Chinese bronzes: art and ritual (London, The British Museum Press, 1987)
- L. von Falkenhausen, Suspended Music: Chime-Bells in the Culture of Bronze Age China (Los Angeles, 1993)
- Harris, Mark (1990). National Museum, Kuala Lumpur: History and culture of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Syarikat S. Abdul Majeed, Pub. Division. p. 88 pages. ISBN 978-983-9629-15-6.
