17th Century Bronze Temple Shrine Hanging Bell (Ghana) C#6

This wonderful 17th Century bronze temple shrine bell was sourced 40 years ago in Kathmandu and is from my own private collection.  Antique shrine bells like this are very hard to source nowadays, and only come onto the market when a temple or shrine has been destroyed by earthquake or dismantled to make way for new infrastructure.

It has the classical Himalayan hanging bell shape, and would probably have been threaded along a horizontal metal bar with other bells  and placed directly above a Buddhist or Hindu temple shrine for people to brush their fingers along to announce their presence to the Gods.  It’s a little larger than most so it’s also possible it was suspended from a rope inside the shrine, but within reach for devotees to ring.

The rung note is a fabulous sixth octave C#6 (1129Hz).

It has been superbly modeled and hand cast in a bronze alloy by the lost wax method and is therefore a unique one-off item.   It is in an excellent state of preservation and has the most aged glorious patina acquired over the centuries.  

When you buy, handle, and ring one of these antique bells you can be confident that it is a genuine and revered holy instrument that has played an important part in countless sacred rituals and ceremonies for at least 100 years. Each bell is a fascinating and beautiful object in its own right, with the look and feel of antiquity…but perhaps more importantly, when it is rung one can sense the spiritual energy, power and purpose with which it is imbued, and the present ineffably connects to the past.