HANDBOOK OF THE COLLECTION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS i 



BELLS 



The bell differs from the gong in being deeper and usually having 

 a clapper suspended inside it. It may be suspended or held in the 

 hand and swung to and fro, the sound being produced by the clapper 

 striking the inside of the bell, or it may be in a fixed position and 

 sounded by the striking of a hammer on its external or its internal 

 surface. 



More intimately than any other instrument the bell is associated 

 with the joys and sorrows of mankind. It has rung for weddings 

 and funerals, given alarm of danger, and, in scenes of peace, been 

 heard as the cattle bell. The jester's cap was trimmed with bells, 

 and in the ancient synagogue the high priest's robe was edged with 

 golden bells. In Egypt the feast of Osiris was announced by the 

 ringing of bells and throughout the Christian world the bell is rung 

 as a call to worship. The Koman Catholic church uses it in the 

 solemn service of the Mass. Bells are used in the modern orchestra, 

 and for this purpose they are tubular in shape, several being hung 

 on a frame. 



Bells were used in ancient Greece, Eome, and Persia, while China 

 and Japan have bells of great antiquity. In ancient times the 

 Chinese used a bell for the same purpose that we use a tuning fork ; 

 a bell also served as a measure of weight in business transactions, 

 a special bell being kept in the temple as a standard. Bronze bells 

 have been found in Assyria, and a small bell was found in a mummy 

 case in Egypt. 



From Africa come little bells made of nutshells, and from Siam 

 are bells of bamboo which were tied around the necks of elephants 

 when they were turned into the jungle to graze at night. The Hopi 

 Indians made bells of the horn of mountain sheep and the Zuni made 

 bells of pottery. Silver, gold, brass, copper, iron, and bronze have 

 also been used in the making of bells. 



A typical bell is shaped like an inverted cup with slightly flaring 

 edge and, as indicated, usually has a clapper suspended and swing- 

 ing freely. The earliest bells were often four-sided, made of thin 

 plates of metal riveted together ; others were cone shaped and some 

 of the latter were in pairs known as " double bells." One such pair 

 (95220, pi. 5/) was used by an African chief when he approached 

 a village to announce his visit, which was not always welcome to 

 the people. 



A particularly interesting set of native bells is from Java (95G61, 

 pi. 6a, two only). This set consists of four frames of graduated 

 sizes, each formed of a long strip of split bamboo bent in a half 

 circle at its middle, with the ends parallel and fastened to a base. 



