I've done a bit of reading, via internet, and to say the least, I never knew bells held so much meaning throughout the world. Anyway, to keep it simple, I did find something that might help identify its origins, but I would need some help applying it to my bell. Listed below is the info. I thought relevant to our subject. There was so much to read, but almost impossible to weed through what applied to my bell.....pictures were hard to come by. Thanks again, for all the input.
"Bell shapes vary by country and culture. The sides can be straight, convex, concave, or hemispherical. East Asian bells tend to be barrel-shaped while Western bells are tulip-shaped with a bulge near the rim. Chinese bells often have lotus-shaped rims. Bells of Western cultures are generally struck by an interior metal striker as the bell swings back and forth. Asian bells are non-swinging and are usually struck manually on the outside with a wooden item".
