Gilt-bronze Standing Bodhisattva Triad

Said to have been excavated at Chuncheon, Gangwon, this is a triad set on a single mandorla, a distinctive piece with body, mandorla and pedestal all cast together. The principal figure, a bodhisattva, wears a crown and has a roundish face. An undergarment is worn thin and diagonally across the chest, and a thick outer robe crosses in an X at the front before spreading to either side like the feathers of a bird's wing. The skirt falls long to the ankles, with a few folds shown in line. The right hand is raised to the shoulder, palm outward; the left points down, the last two fingers bent. The two arhats standing with shaven heads and joined palms wear thick robes, which makes details and folds difficult to see. The mandorla behind the bodhisattva is boat-shaped with a raised border, and three lines divide halo from body aureole. Lotus is carved within the halo, and fine flame outside the halo and aureole. The pedestal is carved with large lotus in double lines. That treatment of the pedestal resembles the gilt-bronze Shakyamuni triad with inscription of Jeong Ji-won from Busosan, Buyeo (a treasure) and the gilt-bronze pensive Maitreya bodhisattva (a national treasure), suggesting a Baekje work, though its rendering is finer. The robe crossing in an X, the hems spreading like a bird's wing and the bent fingers of the left hand show the typical style of Three Kingdoms period Buddhas. Placing arhats either side of a bodhisattva is also seen here for the first time in Korea, which gives it an important value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보