Stone Seated Buddha in Jeungchon-ri, Sangju

This stone Buddha statue, 1.68 metres tall, is enshrined at Yonghwasa Temple in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province. Its face is almost rectangular, and the shoulders, arms, legs and other parts of the body are straight and angular, giving an overall impression of strength and rigidity. The neck bears three lines, known as samdo, symbolising the three stages of Buddhist enlightenment, and the robe covering both shoulders clings closely to the body, rendered thin. The right hand rests on the knee while the left hand holds a medicine bowl, clearly identifying the statue as the Buddha of Medicine (Bhaisajyaguru). No halo survives, and the pedestal is an octagonal lotus-patterned type common in the eighth century, giving a sense of stability. Details such as the long horizontal eyes, the small smileless mouth and the fleshy chin show that this is a transitional work leading towards the Buddha statues of the Goryeo period. It is a work of the late Unified Silla period that inherits the full, balanced style of the mid-Unified Silla period while clearly showing the formalisation and rigidity that characterise the later style.

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Where it is

Region

Sangju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물