Bronze Bell (Bianzhong), Freer and Sackler Galleries / Bronzong
I took this photo around 2004 when my college art history class took a field trip to DC. I set off the alarm in the process by leaning too close, oops! Bells like these were made in sets and the size of the bell determined its tone. They were played by striking them with a pole.
Jomon statuette, Tokyo National Museum, Japan / Baltoy
These are curious figurines made a long time ago. When I was in Japan, my history class visited the Asuka Region which is famous for its burial sites (kofun) and artifacts from around AD 300. But these jomon figures are hundreds of years older than even those sites! They're kind of weird looking.
Bronze Mirror, Los Angeles County Museum of Art / Bronzor
Bronzor is based on a bronze mirrors. These were made 4000 years ago in Egypt, China, and the Indus River Valley. In the Bible, God commanded Israel to make a large basin of bronze for the Tabernacle. According to Exodus 38:8, they did so using bronze mirrors - "He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."
Sarcophagus Lid, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology / Yamask
This was a picture from 2011 when my family visited the UPenn Archeological museum in Philadelphia. These masks from the Middle East were placed on sarcophagi. Yamask is based on a mask and it reminded me of these. And in the TV episode that they made about it, Yamask was indeed in a museum! He was trying to get the mask out of the display :P
