A VERY RARE AND IMPORTANT LARGE BRONZE BELL China, Yongzheng mark and period H. 106 cm Bronze with beautiful dark patina. Circumferential decoration of lotus leaves on the shoulder and bagua, the Chinese eight trigrams in the lower third of the sound body. On the front in a reserve in the form of a ritual tablet inscription: huangdi wanwansui (to the long life of the emperor) and on the opposite side a reserve in the form of a ritual tablet with inscription Daqing yongzheng nian zao (made in the Yongzheng period), further down four striking discs in the shape of a full moon flank the four cardinal points. Large suspension in the form of a handle of excellent workmanship in double moulding of the dragon's son Pulao (one of the sons of the dragon in Chinese mythology) and a ratna-shaped pommel in the centre on Pulao's back. Important German aristocratic private collection, assembled in China prior to 1904 and owned by the family since then Chinese bronze bells show two main types: One is large and its chime has only a frequency and used to be used at specific times such as imperial or official convocation, an alarm, a ritual or to announce the time in the palace, temple or city centre. The second type is small and was used as a musical instrument. The quality of the striking tone of this bell is mainly based on its geometric shape and the metal used. Striking large bells were an important part in the imperial prayer ritual for blessings and rain. Large bells with trumpet-shaped mouths were particularly popular in the Ming and Qing periods. The wall thickness of the bronze bell with this mouth gradually increases from the top to the bottom, this design differs from the bell form from Tang times, which usually had flat mouths and a wall of uniform thickness. The more developed design from the Ming period onwards obviously also improved the quality and stability of the large bronze bells, thus avoiding cracks that occurred after long periods of striking. In the 8th chapter yezhu (Metallurgy and Casting) of the Chinese scientific and technical encyclopaedia tiangong kaiwu (The Utilisation of Natural Resources) by Song Yingxing (1587-ca.1666) , published in 1637, one can find the knowledge and experience regarding the casting of large bronze bells in the Ming period with illustrations. It mentions that bronze was the necessary material to make a good bell. chaozhong (large bells for summoning in the courtyard or city centre) in the Ming period were made only of a bronze alloy of bronze, tin, gold and silver and are provided with a handle for hanging in the shape of pulao, the body of the bell was made by casting the multi-part moulds of clay stone together, the decoration on the surface and sometimes also on the inner surface was made by a lost wax process. The shape and decoration of the bell here is comparable to a large bronze bell , dated 1546 from the Jiajing period in the Mohean Buddhist temple in Beijing. Large bronze bells in Buddhist temples are called fan-zhong (Buddhist bells) and are a typical phenomenon in Chinese Buddhism, because in fact bells were never used in Hindu or Buddhist temples in pre-modern India. The Chinese large bell with the striking tone as a sign has already been described in the historical archives of the Han period. Buddhism as a foreign religion in classical China had not only used this Chinese bell as a temple bell but also adopted the typical Chinese traditional symbols bagua (Eight Trigrams) from the book zhouli (Rites of the Zhou Dynasty). The use of bells in the Buddhist temple was also related to the Confucian view that "The nobleman shows his will and mind through the sounds of the bell and drum". The present bell shows just this interesting phenomenon of cultural integration in classical China. It is equally worth noting that the imperial manufacture of large bells from the Yongle period of the Ming era onwards was regarded as a symbol of achievement and contribution to the