Today is the International Day of Peace. The United Nations established the commemoration in 1981 and it was first observed the next year. The aim of the celebration is to envision (and work towards) a world absent of war and violence.
Japan is very aware of the human cost which comes from military aggression. In 1954, Japan presented the United Nations with a "Peace Bell" which was then installed in a Japanese garden on the U. N. grounds. It is a Bonshō style temple bell and it was cast from coins donated from all over the world. Besides current and old coins other metal objects were melted-down to form the bell: bullets, war medals, military badges, even saber guards. Pope Pius XII contributed nine gold coins. Inscribed upon the bell, in Japanese characters, is the phrase "Long Live Absolute World Peace." The bell hangs in a belfry—an open, Japanese style structure—and it is struck with a wooden hammer, usually twice a year (once on Earth Day and once on the International Day of Peace). Buried beneath the belfry structure are two handfuls of sand, collected by survivors from the two Japanese cities which were nuclear-bombed in 1945. A Zen priest collected one handful of sand from Hiroshima and a Japanese-Christian student did the same in Nagasaki.
The little bronze tea bell, shown above, was made in the 1950's or 1960's and is probably Japanese. It has a delicate tinkle and is finished with a verdigris bronze patina. Click on the photo above to learn more about it.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.