Stone Lantern at Gakhwangjeon Hall of Hwaeomsa Temple, Gurye

This lantern in front of Gakhwangjeon at Hwaeomsa is 6.4 m high overall, the largest in Korea. A stone lantern stands for the light of the Buddha — it is also called a lamp of radiance — and is usually placed before something important, a main hall or a pagoda. A housing for the flame sits at the centre, on three tiers of support, with a roof stone above and a finial on top. On the octagonal ground slab, the lower support carries a large inverted lotus, and above it rises a shaft shaped like an hourglass drum. That drum-shaped shaft was in fashion late in the Unified Silla period, and this is the most typical example of it. Above the shaft an upper support carries a rising lotus, which in turn carries the housing. The housing is octagonal, with four openings cut to let the light out. The eight-sided roof stone has prominent ornaments at its corners, and the finial above it survives complete, which gives the whole a finished look. It is thought to have been raised between 860 and 873, and it sits well against the scale of Gakhwangjeon behind it. It is a little heavy, but the plainness of the open lotus and the boldness of the carving on housing and roof make it representative of its period.

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Where it is

Region

Gurye, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

National Treasure · 국보