The exhibition presents an item used for religious purposes — a bell of small size with a rim on the edge of the sound bow. In the upper part of the artifact there is a cast relief geometric pattern, with four relief borders and the second row of relief geometric pattern below it. There is a band of relief borders lower down, closer to the edge. Four canons are preserved at the top — three lateral and the main one in the center. The clapper of the bell has a cylindrical shape with a hook at the end.

According to written sources, bells have been known in Russia since the 11th century. Large bells began to be cast only in the 15th century, with the emergence of metallurgical plants in the country. In Orthodox Christian culture bells were and still are used during church services. As a rule, sets of bells are placed on special structures — belfries, or bell towers. In Orthodox tradition these architectural structures are often placed separately from the church. The master of bell ringing in Orthodox Christianity is called a bell ringer.

Bells are divided into three main groups. The largest bells are the blagovestnik (bass) bells. They are more often used to summon the faithful to the service. The medium-sized bells, which are used to enhance the ringing, are attached to a special ringing post, and are called podzvonny (alto) bells. The small bell presented in the exposition is a zazvonny (soprano) bell, i.e. it belongs to the third group of bells. Such bells with ropes tied to the clapper are not used one by one on the belfry. They make up groups of three or four bells. Such groups were used in perezvon (striking of each of the bells, once or several times, from largest to the smallest) and trezvon (rhythmical ringing of multiple bells), emphasizing the beauty of chiming. Bells could also be used in wartime, in case of danger, to alert the surrounding population that the enemy was approaching.

The art of bell ringing, which were practically lost during the Soviet era, are carefully preserved and cared for in Yaroslavl. Yaroslavl School of Bell Art has functioned in the city since 2005, and the annual festival of bell and choral music “Transfiguration” takes place every August. The bell presented in the exhibition was donated to the museum in 1999.