Galerie Golconda

Four bronze bells made with the lost wax method. They have that almond shape, with two small horns on top, typical of Dong Son bells. The rectangle on the upper part allowed the sound to escape. Bell without clapper that was rung by hitting it with a mallet. A very pretty homogenous and mostly light green patina.
The Dông Son culture, named after a village in the north of Vietnam where ruins were discovered in 1924, is a fusion of several local cultures including those of the River Ma and Ca basins. It emerged at the start of the 1^st millennium BC and marked the height of the bronze civilization in this region. It was finally absorbed by China under the Han dynasty in 111 BC. Centred on the Red River Valley of Vietnam, the Dong Son were sophisticated agriculturalists, raising rice and buffalo. Dong Son probably arose from local Neolithic cultures, such as Phung Nguyen and Dong Dau phases. Dong Son is identified with the Van Lang ruling dynasty, the first ruling dynasty of Vietnam. By the second century BC, impacts from the Han Dynasty in China were being felt and according to historical records, the Dong Son were absorbed into the Han Dynasty territory.