Buddhist Stele of Amitabha with Inscription of "Gyeyu Year", Offered by Jeon

Found at Biamsa in Yeongi, South Chungcheong, this Buddhist triad is a stele: a tall four-sided stone with Buddhas and inscriptions carved on every face. On the front a border runs round the edge and the field within is cut one step lower to carve an Amitabha triad. The principal Buddha sits on a square pedestal over a large lotus. The face is slender, and the body sturdy and stable in posture. The hands, in the gesture of preaching, are fairly large, following a tradition from the Three Kingdoms period. The robe over both shoulders almost covers the square pedestal, and lions stand left and right below it. The round halo holds a lotus within three concentric rings. The attendant bodhisattvas stand on lotus pedestals on the lions' backs, turned slightly towards the Buddha; their faces are too damaged to read, but their round halos carved with lotus survive. Between the shoulders of the Buddha and the bodhisattvas, arhats show only their faces, and guardian kings stand beside the bodhisattvas. Above the figures is a double mandorla carved with flame, with five small Buddhas in the inner one. The spaces left and right outside the mandorla are cut lower still for flying celestials. At the bottom of each side a dragon's head is carved facing forward, with figures playing instruments on lotuses above. The back is divided into four tiers, each with five small seated Buddhas, and the names and offices of people are carved between them. The carving is precise yet majestic, and in keeping old forms in its details it resembles the Buddhist stele of Buddha triad and a thousand Buddhas with inscription of 'Gyeyu Year' (a national treasure). It is thought to have been made in 673, the thirteenth year of King Munmu, just after the unification of the Three Kingdoms.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

National Treasure · 국보