Gilt-bronze Miniature Pagoda

With its lavish and precise design, this gilt-bronze pagoda is thought to be a kind of reliquary pagoda kept inside a Buddha hall. Known gilt-bronze pagodas are mostly 20–30 cm high and very rarely over 50 cm, but this one is 155 cm high as it stands. Only five storeys of the body remain, but it probably had about seven, and part of the finial is lost, so it was once taller still. Five storeys stand on a two-tier base with a finial on top, following the usual form of the stone pagoda. The base has pillars like those of timber buildings neatly carved at the corners and on each face. Each face of the lower tier carries lotus petals with round borders, a clear feature of Goryeo stone pagodas. A railing runs round the base and the body stands within it; the first storey has doors and pillars with a roof above, faithfully following timber architecture. Buddhas are carved on the second to fifth storeys, though the carving is not outstanding. Wind-bells hung from every corner of the roofs; some are lost and only a few remain. The gilding has almost entirely worn away, but it is well preserved overall, and the body seems to soar lightly above the broad base. The abundant ornament and pendants mark it clearly as a craft pagoda, yet it follows the form of the timber building faithfully. A large piece of metalwork with precise detail, it is thought to date from early Goryeo.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보