| Klang Bell | |
|---|---|
 Bronze bell from Klang, Malaysia on display at the British Museum | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Size | 58 cm High, 31 cm Diameter |
| Weight | 7.4 kg |
| Created | 200 BC |
| Present location | British Museum,London |
| Registration | 1949,0715.1 |
TheKlang Bell is an ancient bronzebell found in the city ofKlang,Selangor state, westernMalaysia. Estimated to date from the lateIron Age, the bell is a rare object of itsgenre and since 1949 has been part of theBritish Museum'sAsian Collections.[1]
Found with a number of iron tools in the city ofKlang, the castbronze artefact was one of three unearthed there; it is very similar to other bells that have been found inBattambang inCambodia.[2] One bell has been dated to AD 150.[3]
The Klang Bell has a high, narrow body crowned by a cup-likelid and was designed to be worn by an elephant.[2] The entire bell is decorated with vertical bands of rectangles composed of doublespirals with central eyesmotifs. In the lower part of the bell, three irregularly fashioned rows lie above a plain band. The bell is decorated in a similar way to theDong Son drums that were produced in large quantities inVietnam and elsewhere in southeast Asia between 600 BC and the third century AD, and are some of the region's finest examples of metalworking from this period.
