Temple Bell, (sculpture).

Temple Bell, (sculpture).

Magoemon, Suzuki, sculptor.

Gonzaemon, Tanaka, caster.

Temple Bell, (sculpture).

Japanese Temple Bell, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: H. 3 ft. x Diam. 2 ft.; Base: 3 ft. 7 in. x 2 ft. 8 in. x 2 ft. 8 in.

(Inscribed:) TEMPLE BELL FROM JAPAN/CAST IN 1675/BROUGHT TO THE CITY OF BOSTON BY THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE UNITED/STATES SHIP BOSTON/WITH THE BLESSING (curved "t" above curved arrows)/OF THE MANPUKUJI TEMPLE-SENDAI AS A SYMBOL OF FREINDSHIP AND A BOND OF PEACE. unsigned

The Japanese temple bell is cylindrical in shape and has both horizontal and vertical lines throughout the piece. The middle portion of the bell is divided into four sections on which etchings of both Japanese figures and writings have been carved. The top portion has bulbous ornamentation placed in vertical rows. The handle, in the form of a dragon, crowns the flat top of the bell.

Object -- Musical Instrument -- Bell

Allegory -- Place -- Japan

Fantasy -- Dragon

Outdoor Sculpture -- Massachusetts -- Boston

Administered by City of Boston, Boston Art Commission, Office of Cultural Affairs, Boston City Hall, Room 716, Boston, Massachusetts 02201

Located Back Bay Fens, Near rose garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Formerly located Boston Commons, Boston, Massachusetts

Originally installed Manpukuji Temple, Sendai, Japan

The bell was originally located at the Manpukuji Temple in Sendai, Japan. Sailors from the U.S.S. Boston salvaged the bell, which had been appropriated for the Japanese war effort, from a scrap heap in Yokosuka, Japan. The officers and men presented it to the City of Boston in 1945. In 1953, Japan officially presented the bell to Boston as a symbol of the attainment of peace. IAS files contain related correspondence and an operations memorandum from Sendai American Cultural Center (Oct. 16, 1953); and information from the Adopt-A-Statue Program. Bell and base were restored in 1992.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Massachusetts survey, 1993.

Carlock, Marty, "A Guide to Public Art in Greater Boston," MA: Harvard Common Press, 1988, pg. 48.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System