Jungguk Iron Temple Bell (1982-2)

This temple bell was among items stored at the Incheon Army Arsenal, which the Japanese colonial authorities built in Bupyeong during the Pacific War to manufacture weapons. After liberation, the museum's first director, Lee Gyeong-seong (1919–2009), acquired it in 1946 for the opening of the Incheon Municipal Museum. Based on its inscription, the bell appears to have been cast in the second year of the Dade era of the Chinese Yuan dynasty, in Luyang County, Henan Province. The yongnyu, the dragon-shaped loop by which the bell is hung, takes the form of twin dragons gripping the crown plate in their mouths while coiling around each other's bodies. The body of the bell curves gently inward before flaring outward again toward its mouth. The boundary between the crown plate and the body is likewise joined by a gentle curve, around which a band of lotus-petal design is carved, with circular holes pierced at regular intervals. The body of the bell is divided into upper and lower registers by raised horizontal lines marking out the main spaces, and within these registers further raised lines create bands patterned after a monk's kasaya robe, with the inscription carved inside them. This method of dividing the entire body of the bell into sections for the inscription differs greatly from Korean temple bells, which typically carve lotus-bud bosses within raised lotus-seat frames or a striking panel, and is instead a characteristic feature of Chinese bells. The rim of the bell's mouth shows a wave pattern, above which a band of Eight Trigrams motifs is arranged around the circumference.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeonsu-gu, Incheon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산