Five-pronged Vajra Bell (Gokorei)
Unknown Artist
early 1300s
Medium
gilt bronze
Dimensions
diam. 7.5 cm · height: h. 16.7 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Lillian M. Kern Memorial Fund
Accession Number
2016.38
About this artwork
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.