A BRONZE BELL, "LUAN", CHINA, green patina, partially lumpy, consisting of an openwork sphere containing a ball and inserted in a ring supported by a slightly truncated cone-shaped base. China, Western Zhou dynasty, 11th-8th centuries B.C.A BRONZE BELL, "LUAN", CHINA, ZHOU DYNASTY, 11TH-8TH CENTURIES B.C.HEIGHT. 16,3 CM (6 7/16 IN.) - WIDTH (MAX.) 8,7 CM (3 7/16 IN.)Provenance: By descent from the collection of a director of the Société d'import-export Denis Frères in Saigon between 1925 and 1955.acquired in the early 1950s, probably from T. Y. King in Hong Kong, where the collector bought many Chinese objects. (See invoice for lots 7 and 8) Note: these bells were ornaments on chariots, indicating the social status of the passenger, depending on their number. Attached to the yoke or drawbar, they were arranged in groups of two, four or eight. Similar pieces can be found in museums such as the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Nara National Museum.