Minneapolis Institute of Art

Ritual Bell (Dōtaku)

Japan

Date

1st century BCE–1st century CE

Medium

Bronze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Among the most impressive examples of early bronze casting in Japan are large, bronze bells like this one, known as dōtaku . Metallurgy, together with wet-rice cultivation, was probably first introduced to Japan by a new wave of immigrants from the Korean peninsula around 200–300 BCE. Although dōtaku resemble Chinese bells in overall shape, most lack musical resonance because of the thinness of their casting. Instead, they seem to have been ritual objects and symbols of political authority. This bell was one of fourteen excavated in 1881 on Mount Ōiwa in Shiga Prefecture. Asia

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.