Gilt-bronze Standing Bhaisajyaguru Buddha of Baengnyulsa Temple, Gyeongju

This standing image, 1.77 m high, was at Baengnyulsa on Sogeumgangsan north of Gyeongju until it was moved to the Gyeongju National Museum in 1930. It represents Bhaisajyaguru, the Buddha who heals the illnesses of every living thing. The head is not large against the body. The round face, long brows, narrow eyes, high nose and small mouth make an elegant impression, though with less tension and spring than the ideal Buddha face of the mid-eighth century. The shoulders are slightly thin for so large a body, but their line shows clearly through a robe held close to it. The robe covers both shoulders and falls over both arms, and the knot of the skirt shows at the chest. Continuous U-shaped folds are drawn across the front, a little schematically. The body grows heavier towards the ground and the hem with it, which, with the lower abdomen naturally raised by the backward lean of the torso, is characteristic of the type. Both hands are lost, but from the position and angle of the wrists the right was raised palm outward and the left held a medicine jar or a jewel. It reads somewhat flat, but the proportions and the modelling are of a high order, and with the two gilt-bronze Buddhas at Bulguksa it is counted one of the three great gilt-bronze images of Unified Silla.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Treasure · 국보