Gilt-bronze Standing Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva from Samyang-dong, Seoul

A bodhisattva 20.7 cm high found in Samyang-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul, in 1967, now in the care of the National Museum of Korea. It is cracked above the ankles, and part of the left hem has broken away. It wears a triangular crown; the full face looks serene, with a faint smile at the mouth. The narrow shoulders make the upper body look shrunken, and the belly is pushed forward, so that from the side it curves like a bow. A thick garment draped twice across the belly and the knees hangs in U shapes. The skirt is thick, so the outline of the legs is indistinct, and its folds are simplified into a few lines. The right hand holds a water vessel near the waist, and the left is raised with thumb and index finger held straight in an unusual V. The pedestal is carved with inverted lotus, the pointed tips of the petals contrasting with the softness of the figure. The small Buddha carved on its triangular crown and the water vessel in its right hand identify it clearly as Avalokitesvara. The plump face and body and the U-shaped folds suggest a date in the first half of the seventh century, and it is a precious record of the cult of Avalokitesvara that flourished in the late Three Kingdoms period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보