Temple Bell (Bonsho; Tsurigane)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 9 Mar 1859
name: label: Donor Name
content: Emperor Of Japan
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "CAST BELL METAL, CYLINDRICAL BODY AND CONOIDAL TOP. BELL IS SUSPENDED, STRUCK OVER THE CIRCULAR BOSS NEAR THE MOUTH, WITH A SWINGING BEAM OF WOOD. *THE FOUR SQUARES EACH CONTAINING TWELVE KNOBS ARE SUPPOSSED TO REPRESENT THE SNAILS THAT CRAWLED ON BUDDHA'S HEAD AND PREVENTED A SUNSTROKE. FROM THE APEX OF THE BELL PROJECT TWO DRAGON'S HEADS UNITED BY THE PRECIOUS JEWEL, FORMING A LOOP BY WHICH THE BELL IS SUSPENDED. REFER: U.S.N.M. BULL. 136., PL. 5B, P.118. JAN. 1969 LOAN TO JAPAN SOCIETY, NYC. *THESE WOODEN STRIKERS ARE COVERED WITH CLOTH OR LEATHER."
label: Notes
content: See Chang-Su Houchins. 1995. Artifacts of Diplomacy: Smithsonian Collections from Commodore Matthew Perry's Japan Expedition (1853-1854). Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology, Number 37. P 111
label: Notes
content: Prior to coming to the Smithsonian, artifacts from the Perry collection were exhibited at the National Institute. You can see a short description of the exhibit on pp. 58-59, objects listed as beneath Case 62, in National Institute for the Promotion of Science, and Alfred Hunter. 1857. A popular catalogue of the extraordinary curiosities in the National Institute, arranged in the building belonging to the Patent Office. Curiosities collected from all parts of the world, by the officers of the Army and Navy of the United States. Washington: A. Hunter.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 6 Jul 2023
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Japan, Asia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Japanese
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 199043
label: USNM Number
content: E273-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bell
physicalDescription: label: Height
content: 47 cm
label: Depth
content: 26 cm
label: Width
content: 12.76 kg