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This ornate bronze hand bell could be used to summon servants. The making of bells--mall ones, as well as large ones for bell towers--was a specialized craft. To produce a bell with a pleasing sound required an alloy with more tin and less copper than that used for statuary; this produced a metal that was more brittle and therefore more difficult to cast.Hand bells were often ornamented with motifs characteristic of a specific workshop. They could be "personalized" by adding the family's coat of arms to a prepared empty shield. Here, the two shields bear a millwheel, the emblem of the noble Venetian family Molini (meaning "miller").

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
7fd04288cf9a96f6
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
8532
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "8532",
    "sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/54.208",
    "contentType": "object",
    "stage": "normalized",
    "title": "Hand Bell with Two Shields",
    "description": "This ornate bronze hand bell could be used to summon servants. The making of bells--mall ones, as well as large ones for bell towers--was a specialized craft. To produce a bell with a pleasing sound required an alloy with more tin and less copper than that used for statuary; this produced a metal that was more brittle and therefore more difficult to cast.Hand bells were often ornamented with motifs characteristic of a specific workshop. They could be \"personalized\" by adding the family's coat of arms to a prepared empty shield. Here, the two shields bear a millwheel, the emblem of the noble Venetian family Molini (meaning \"miller\").",
    "provenance": "Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.",
    "date": "1540-1580 (Renaissance)",
    "citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/54.208",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
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        "handbells",
        "bells"
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    "largeImageUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL9_54.208_Fnt_BW.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "pageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensions": [
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            "units": "cm",
            "width": 14.4,
            "height": 9.5
        }
    ],
    "dimensionsRaw": "5 11/16 x 3 3/4 in. (14.4 x 9.5 cm) (h. x diam.)"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "8532",
    "label": "Hand Bell with Two Shields",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object",
    "citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/54.208"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "8532",
    "sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/54.208",
    "contentType": "object",
    "stage": "normalized",
    "title": "Hand Bell with Two Shields",
    "description": "This ornate bronze hand bell could be used to summon servants. The making of bells--mall ones, as well as large ones for bell towers--was a specialized craft. To produce a bell with a pleasing sound required an alloy with more tin and less copper than that used for statuary; this produced a metal that was more brittle and therefore more difficult to cast.Hand bells were often ornamented with motifs characteristic of a specific workshop. They could be \"personalized\" by adding the family's coat of arms to a prepared empty shield. Here, the two shields bear a millwheel, the emblem of the noble Venetian family Molini (meaning \"miller\").",
    "provenance": "Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.",
    "date": "1540-1580 (Renaissance)",
    "citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/54.208",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Metal",
        "handbells",
        "bells"
    ],
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    "largeImageUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PL9_54.208_Fnt_BW.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "pageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensions": [
        {
            "units": "cm",
            "width": 14.4,
            "height": 9.5
        }
    ],
    "dimensionsRaw": "5 11/16 x 3 3/4 in. (14.4 x 9.5 cm) (h. x diam.)"
}
Document source extras
{
    "med": "bronze",
    "creator_ids": [
        "15387",
        "33562"
    ],
    "collection_ids": [
        "REN"
    ],
    "exhibition_ids": []
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/raw/PL9_54.208_Fnt_BW.jpg",
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