Royal Ontario Museum receives $1M gift for Ming dynasty bell display

A generous donation of $1 million has been made to the Royal Ontario Museum by The Browning Watt Foundation to aid in showcasing a significant Chinese bronze bell, known as the Temple bell of Wei Bin, which was cast in 1518 during the Ming dynasty. This bell will be prominently displayed at the upcoming Hennick Entrance, part of the OpenROM initiative, transforming Canada’s largest museum. Visitors will be welcomed by five monumental pieces at the entrance. The bell, measuring two meters in height and featuring elaborate carvings and inscriptions, is one of the most important early 16th-century Chinese artifacts in the ROM's collection and ranks among the largest still in existence. It was commissioned by Wei Bin, a notable advisor to Emperor Zhengde (r. 1505-1520), and was acquired by collector George Crofts for the museum in 1920.