Ritual bell (dotaku)

Historical period(s)
Yayoi period, 2nd century
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W: 95.7 x 50.8 cm (37 11/16 x 20 in)
Geography
Japan, Kinki region
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1968.73
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Metalwork
Type

Ritual bell (dotaku)

Keywords
Japan, Yayoi period (400 B.C.E - 250 CE)
Provenance

?-1968
Kochukyo Company, Ltd. 壺中居, Tokyo, Japan, method of acquisition unknown [1]

From 1968
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Kochukyo Co., Ltd [2]

Notes:

[1] Kochukyo Company, Ltd. presented the object to John A. Pope, Director of the Freer Gallery of Art when Pope traveled to Japan in the spring of1968. See letter from Hiroshi Hirota of Kochukyo Co., Ltd. to Mr. John A Pope, May 8, 1968, original in object file.

[2] On July 13, 1968, Kochukyo Co., Ltd. exported the object to Washington, DC via Northwest Orient airline, see customs documentation in object file. The Freer Gallery of Art received an invoice for the sale on November 25, 1968, and issued payment on December 3, 1968, see Kochukyo Co., Ltd. invoice, November 25, 1968, original in object file.

Research Completed on November 3, 2022.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Kochukyo Co. Ltd. established 1924

Published References
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Thomas Lawton, Harold P. Stern. The Freer Gallery of Art. 2 vols., Washington and Tokyo, 1971-1972. cat. 96, vol. 2: p. 180.
  • Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art: Freer Gallery of Art handbook. Washington, 1976. p. 79.
  • Peoples and Places of the Past: The National Geographic Illustrated Cultural Atlas of the Ancient World. Washington. p. 305.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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