Cattle bell thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Cattle bell

Cattle Bell
1100-1299 AD (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ovoid, hollow with attachment loops at each end with a pierced design of four cusped quatrefoils spaced by four diamond-shapes to the sides. Four pierced triangles at the top and bottom imbricate with the quatrefoils. Inside is a clapper in the form of a cup-shaped bead.
Patina: olive brown with reddish undertones.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleCattle bell (generic title)
Materials and techniques
cast bronze, pierced and engraved
Brief description
Middle East, Metalwork. Bronze, cast, pierced and engraved, eastern Iran, probably 12th-13th c., Islamic. Inter-departmental transfer to MES, RF 2011/1170.
Physical description
Ovoid, hollow with attachment loops at each end with a pierced design of four cusped quatrefoils spaced by four diamond-shapes to the sides. Four pierced triangles at the top and bottom imbricate with the quatrefoils. Inside is a clapper in the form of a cup-shaped bead.
Patina: olive brown with reddish undertones.
Dimensions
  • Length: 8.95cm
  • Diameter: 3.8cm
Style
Gallery label
HARNESS-JINGLE. Bronze. PERSIAN; 17th OR 18th CENTURY. Croft Lyons Bequest.(Used until 10/2002)
Credit line
Lt. Col. G. B. Croft-Lyons Bequest
Object history
Given to the museum as part of the Babington Croft-Lyons bequest, 6th August 1926.

Historical significance: The trilobed motifs and cusped quatrefoils suggest an Eastern Iranian provenance.
This type of bell can be traced back to pre-Achaemenid cattle-bells from north-western Iran. No intermediary object links which bridge the chronological gap are on record.
It is likely to be of 11th-12th century date but a much earlier date - about the 9th century - cannot be ruled out.
Collection
Accession number
M.1059-1926

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Record createdJune 21, 2002
Record URL
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