Tzar bell

No date; possibly late 1890s

Handwritten on back in pencil, "Czar Bell - Next to bell tower of "Ivan the Great." Wt - 200 tons. Largest metal bell in the world. 6.14 meters high. 6.6 meters diameter. Cast by 200 craftsmen under supervision of Ivan Motorin and son, Mikhaiil. During great fire of 1737 the bell lay in its casting pile. Because of uneven coolery resulting from attempts to distinguish fire, the bronze cracked and a chunk weighing 11.5 tons broke off. After that the bell remained in the earth for almost 100 years. In 1836 architect Auguste Montiferrand raised it & put it on a granite pedestal. Surface finely worked with in relief with decorative patterns, embossed pictures & inscriptions."

Digitizing agency: University of Missouri—Kansas City. Library. Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Special Collections.