Page 99 - Deydier UNDERSTANDING CHINESE ARCHAIC BRONZES

Nao 鐃

This medium to large-sized bell composed of a large, elliptic, cup-like
section that, unlike bells of later periods, is placed upwards towards
the sky, rests on a long, thick, cylindrical, handle-like projection,
which in fact serves as the bell’s base. The sound emitted by this ritual
instrument is produced by percussion.

Under the heading nao 鐃, specialists place two types of bells, similar
in shape, but quite different in size:

The nao 鐃, which according to the Shuowen jiezi 說文解字, written
around the 2 century B.C., is the name given to fairly small bells of
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between 7 cm and 21 cm in height, which were used during the Shang
商 dynasty. Such nao 鐃 have been excavated from Yinxu 殷墟 period
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(circa 14 – 12 /11 centuries B.C.) tombs and are usually found in
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groups of three or four, or exceptionally, as in the case of the Fuhao 婦
好 (Lady Hao) Tomb excavation in present-day Anyang 安陽, Henan 河
南 province, in a group of five.
The zheng 鉦, often simply called nao 鐃 or large nao 鐃, is shaped
exactly like the smaller nao 鐃, but is of a much larger size, sometimes
reaching 90 cm in height; usually very heavy, the zheng 鉦 type of nao
鐃 can weigh as much as 154 kg and its walls can be as thick as 3 or
4 cm.

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Nao, late Shang dynasty, early Werstern Zhou dynasty (circa 12 /11 centuries B.C.)
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Height: 46.4 cm – Meiyintang Collection.
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