early 1300s
Gilt bronze
Height: 16.7 cm (6 9/16 in.); Diameter: 7.5 cm (2 15/16 in.)
Lillian M. Kern Memorial Fund 2016.38
Vajras are symbolic weapons, representing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force), still used in Buddhist ceremonies today.
The five prongs of this bell symbolize the Buddhist “Five Perfections”—generosity, morality, patience, perseverance, and concentration. The mouth of the bell symbolizes the “Sixth Perfection” of wisdom. The bell was used in Japanese Esoteric Buddhist rituals along with vajra pestles, or kongōsho.
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