328 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. X. 



that they must be equal, if not superior, to any ancient specimens 

 was then a renaissance period of art on all lines, greater than which no 

 other previous age had seen, fostered by imperial patronage, enlisting 

 the highest talent of the time. I doubt if at present any of these bells 

 are in existence older than the eighteenth century. It is true the 

 Bishop collection (Vol. II, p. 107) possesses a large flat gong of nephrite 

 with a date-mark Yiian-ting, i. e. made in the period b. c. 116-111 of 

 the Han Emperor Wu ; but it is just this dated inscription which is apt 

 to cause suspicion, as such inscriptions do not otherwise exist in ancient 

 jade pieces and are not on record in any Chinese collection. I do not 

 mean to throw any reflection on the great value and unusual beauty 

 of this object, but it is a question open to discussion whether it really 

 belongs to the period referred to. 



During the T'ang dynasty the regulation obtained that in the 

 worship of the Deities of Heaven and Earth stone was employed for 

 the k'ing, while in the ancestral temple and in the palace k'ing of jade 

 were utilized. 



In 1764, the governor of Yarkand forwarded to the emperor K'ien- 

 lung 39 large slabs weighing altogether 3975 catties, to make the pecu- 

 liar musical stones called k'ing, besides a large supply of smaller slabs; 

 and, the year after, sent a further large quantity for imperial use. The 

 slabs were all quarried in the Mirtai Mountains, and sawn there 

 natives of Sungaria (Bishop, Vol. I, p. 25). 



The bell represented on Plate LI 1 1 though made as late as the K'ien- 

 lung period (173 6- 1795) is a specimen of most brilliant workmanship. 

 It was acquired from the private collection of a Chinese gentleman in 

 the town of San-yuan north of Si-ngan fu. First of all, it is valuable 

 for its material, being carved from a jade of the Han dynasty (Han yii). 

 A brown-red tinge passing into light-yellow shades is strewn over a 

 background of a glossy white which the Chinese designate as mutt' 

 fat. Aside from the two pendants, 1 the entire bell is carved from o: 

 solid bowlder of jade, with walls 1 cm thick. It is hollowed out 

 means of the tubular drill, 2 as can be seen in the interior where, side 

 side, three cylindrical pieces unequal in length, have been taken o 

 It is 20 cm high, 14.6 cm wide at the base, and 3.8 cm thick, over 

 middle of the base. 



In shape and design, this bell is an exact reproduction of one of 

 ancient bronze bells of the Chou period. The decoration on both fa< 

 is identical. The lower and upper edges are bordered by meandei 

 patterns. A band with a conventionalized monster's head (Vao-Vie 



1 They have been omitted in our Plate to ensure a larger reproduction of the b 



2 Compare Bushell, Chinese Art, Vol. I, p. 144. 



» 



