H69.42.16

Bell (mission). Description: brass, wooden handle. Dimensions: 8 1/2" high, handle 10" long, diameter at bell - 7 1/4" From the History Information Station Object: Brass bell cast in Mexico between 1723 and 1750. History: Every newly founded mission possessed at least two bells. The missions administered to both the spiritual and temporal needs of the Indian converts and so too did the mission bells. The bells reserved for sacred purposes hung in the church tower, companaria, or espanda_a. In addition, there was also a signal or call bell, which hung near the quarters of the padres. According to the regulations of the missions, the Indian converts' lives were to be governed strictly for worship, labor, meals, and for sleep by the sound of a bell. Life at the missions was ruled by the bell to such an extent that the phrase bajo la campana came to express the life of the mission Indian. Museum Purchase