Many countries have presented the UN with gifts of
art. Here are three examples of sculptures and statues, all related to
peace.
The Japanese Peace Bell, presented to the United Nations on 22 August 1958 by
the United Nations Associations of Japan, was cast from coins collected by children from
60 different countries. It is housed in a typically Japanese structure, ressembling
a Shinto shrine, made of cypress wood. Inscribed on one side of the bell, in
Japanese, are the words: "Long live absolute world peace".
The gift is located in the landscape area northwest of
the Secretariat Building.
View the Peace Bell
The
sculpture by Evgeniy Vuchetich, called "Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares", a
gift from the then Soviet Union was presented on 4 December 1959. The bronze statue
represents the figure of a man holding a hammer in one hand, in the other, a sword which
he is making into a plowshare, symbolizing man's desire to put an end to war and convert
the means of destruction into creative tools for the benefit of all mankind.
The gift is located in the north garden area.
View the sculpture
Presented on 30 September 1988 by the Government of Luxembourg, the sculpture
of an outsized revolver with its barrel tied in a knot, greets the visitor to the United
Nations Headquarters. The artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, a native of Sweden,
named the gift "Non-violence".
The gift is located on the apron of the General Assembly
Building
View the sculpture
facing First Avenue at 45th Street.
