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This is a set of 34 antique Swedish solid brass crotal sleigh bells with a smooth slot and screw back design. Each bell is round and measures 1.25 inches in size and all have a clear ring tone. No \'dead\' bells. The Victorian-era bells are original and made of brass, featuring an antique brass finish with verdigris where the bells touch the leather. The leather strap dates to the mid 1960s but has been in storage for over 60 years and looks like new. These bells are suitable for use as decorative collectibles on a door or other surface and are sturdy enough to be used as a harness attachment for your favorite carriage horse.
Item Specifications:
- Bell Origin/Style: Antique Swedish-Style Crotal\"Tulip\" Bells
- Design: Seamless cast brass, smooth/narrowthroat slot (no end holes)
- Quantity: 34 total bells (17 matched bells perstrap)
- Bell Size: Uniform 1 1/4\" diameter acrossboth straps (Size #2)
- Mounting: Rivet-backs were replaced with brassmachine screws and mounted on two unlined leather straps.
- Historical & Design Context: These stunningbells feature the classic smooth, narrow sound slit highly characteristic ofantique Scandinavian/Swedish sleigh bells. Unlike common American bells withdrilled circular holes at the throat ends, these feature a clean, sawed slotdesign that yields an incredibly resonant, bright, and authentic chime.
o Bells: All 34 have a clear, resonant sound (seevideo) The brass features a gorgeous, undisturbed dark patina with some residual verdigris.
o Leather: The two leather straps are structurallysound dating back to the 1960s but look like new leather with no cracking ortearing.
These bells have no apparent stamps or makers\' marks but contain cast iron peas. They match the classic profile of late 19th-centuryfolk or utility-grade Swedish-style sleigh bells. The lack of marks isperfectly normal for these cast bells, and the iron peas (confirmed by theirmagnetic pull) will deliver a deep, traditionalresonance unique to this style of bell.
The presence of a cast iron peainside a solidbrass body is one of the most reliable indicators of an 19th-century antique. Foundries used a specialized technique where the iron pea was placed inside the internal sand core before the molten brass was poured around it. Iron has a much higher melting point than brass, allowing the brass to solidify into a continuous bell without melting the pea inside.Modern reproduction bells almost exclusivelyuse cheap steel ball bearings or brass balls dropped in afterward. A rough,dark cast iron pea delivers that authentic, deeply resonant historical ring.
The most defining trait of a solid Swedish bell is that the sound slits (throats) were mechanically sawed into the metal after casting, rather than formed by the mold. Because of this, the slits are perfectly crisp, straight lines with no rounded \"mouths\" at the ends.
Rivet-stylecast bells became highly popular in the mid-to-late 1800s because they satflush and tight against body straps or shafts, preventing the bells fromflopping around. The fact that the worn-down or broken rivets werereplaced with brass screws is actually a common \"restoration\" choice.Whena harness maker or collector restores a historic strap, or when they want tomount antique bells onto a brand-new leather strap, removing old rivets wasincredibly difficult without damaging the bell. Drilling out the old rivet, tapping(threading) the base hole, and inserting a modern brass machine screw isthe premier, professional method used by restorers to securely save the bellsand mount them to new leather.
