Bronze hand bell, c1530-c1570, (1881). Etching of a small bell with the arms of the Lippomani family of Venice, made in Italy (probably the Veneto), in the mid 16th century. The Latin inscription: '[with] my ring I call your servants, o Lippomano', indicates that it was used for summoning domestic staff. The decoration features a row of downward-facing, overlapping acanthus leaves on the sound bow. From "The South Kensington Museum", a book of engraved illustrations, with descriptions, of the works of art in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (formerly known as the South Kensington Museum). [Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, London, 1881]