Daeboksa Bronze Bell, Namwon

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.2261

Category

Craft

Era

1635년(조선 인조 13)

Designated year

2024

Location

남원시, 전북특별자치도— 전북특별자치도 남원시 대복사길 61 (왕정동, 대복사)

Coordinates

No precise coordinates are available, so this item is not shown as a map marker. To be added later.

This English description was machine-translated and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the original Korean text for details.

The bronze bell of Daeboksa Temple in Namwon is a clearly documented bell cast in 1635 by the monk-craftsman Jeongwoo in collaboration with seven other artisans, including Sinwon, as recorded in the bell inscription. Originally commissioned for installation at Yeongwonsa Temple, the bell was later transferred to its current location at Daeboksa after Yeongwonsa was abandoned. Jeongwoo and Sinwon were eminent bell-casting monks who conducted extensive reconstruction projects throughout Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Jeolla provinces during the first half of the 17th century. As an early work of these master craftsmen, the Namwon Daeboksa bell combines traditional Goryeo-period bell design elements such as standing lotus petal band decoration and descending bodhisattva figures with contemporaneous foreign stylistic features in the double-dragon bell knob. The artistic representation within the lotus petal band and the inclusion of dedicatory plaques expressing wishes for the propagation of Buddhist law and national prosperity represent distinctively 17th-century characteristics and individual artistic innovation. The bell's casting inscription provides comprehensive documentation of its creation date, dedication location and temple, donors, and craftsmen involved, offering significant historical and scholarly value for understanding the activities and development of 17th-century bell-casting monks and their contribution to Buddhist restoration following the Japanese invasions.