Gilt-bronze Handbell of Songgwangsa Temple, Suncheon

A yoryeong is an implement that monks shake to produce sound during Buddhist rites at a temple. This example, 20.6 cm high and 6.6 cm in diameter, is made of bronze, though traces of gilding remain. The body is square in section but each face bulges outward, giving it a rounded form. Above the body is a long handle with a single node; the point where the handle meets the body shows signs of later repair, and the upper part of the handle is also damaged. The lower part of the handle is round, with a single large flower facing downward on each side. Thick raised lines run around the edges dividing the faces of the body and around the mouth, and within these borders is carved, in relief, a single dragon coiling its body as it rises upward, with cloud patterns filling the space around it. The design on each face appears to have been struck from the same mould. At the centre of the mouth a semicircular section breaks the otherwise plain rim. This handbell, a valuable piece of metalwork handed down at Songgwangsa Temple since ancient times, is admired for its elegant form and beautiful carving; it is considered both a masterpiece among surviving Korean handbells and the oldest known example of its kind.

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Where it is

Region

Suncheon, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물