Namhae inscribed "Mangunamgeollyungeulsa Temple" Bronze Bell

This bronze bell has traditionally been rung morning and evening at Mangunam Hermitage, and it is said that long ago a great monk, hearing its toll resound from the hermitage perched on a high mountain peak, composed a poem titled "Unam Mojong" ("The Evening Bell of Unam Hermitage"). The bell, cast in bronze, stands about 49cm in total height. Parts of the surface of the crown plate and body are not perfectly smooth and clearly show tool marks, but damaged areas have been well repaired, so that the bell retains its original form. Judging from the bell's proportions, its dragon-shaped hanging loop and the arrangement of its roundels inscribed with Sanskrit characters, it appears to be a work of the late Joseon period showing the influence of Chinese bell-making; fortunately, however, a dot-punched inscription on the lower part of the body reveals that it was made in the year corresponding to the fiftieth year of the Qianlong reign, an eulsa year, that is 1785, at Hwabangsa Temple in Namhae. It therefore holds scholarly value for the study of Joseon-period Buddhist bells.

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Where it is

Region

Namhae, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료