Bronze Water Basin of Jeondeungsa Temple, Ganghwa

The bronze water basin of Jeondeungsa Temple measures 112 cm in diameter and 72 cm in height, and is presumed to date from the late Goryeo to early Joseon period. Cast in bronze, the basin takes the form of a bal, a monk's alms bowl, with a raised band running around its rim. It shows some cracks and traces of damage, but all have been repaired and it remains in good condition. Water basins at Buddhist temples were generally made from the Three Kingdoms period onward by hollowing out the interior of a large stone to hold water, and were kept by wells for washing vessels and the like. In palaces such basins were called deumu; there is a folk belief that they were filled with water so that it could be used at once in the event of fire, and that a fire demon or fire spirit passing overhead, seeing its own reflection in the water, would take it for a companion already arrived and move on elsewhere. No inscription or record relating to the making of this bronze water basin has yet been found, so its exact date of production cannot be determined, but it is presumed to have been made in the late Goryeo to early Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Ganghwa, Incheon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산