East Five-story Stone Pagoda of Hwaeomsa Temple, Gurye

A pair of pagodas stands to the east and west in front of the Daeungjeon Hall of Hwaeomsa Temple. This is the eastern one; although similar in size to its western counterpart, where the west pagoda is richly carved and decorated, the east pagoda is plain and unadorned. It consists of a five-story body raised on a single-tiered base, differing from the west pagoda, whose base has two tiers. Pillar shapes are carved at the corners and centre of each face of the base. The body of the pagoda gives a sense of stability, as the first-story body-stone is wide relative to its height. It also appears slender, since the height decreases from story to story less sharply than the width does. The roof stones are very flat and thin, and their width narrows considerably from story to story, the difference between the first and second being especially marked. At the top, the finial consists of a dew-basin and an inverted-bowl-shaped ornament, with intermediate pillars supporting a jewel-shaped ornament resembling a lotus bud above. Whereas Unified Silla pagodas typically have a two-tiered base, this one has only a single tier, and, judging from the somewhat loosely assembled stonework of the base, it is thought to have been built around the same time as the west pagoda, in the ninth century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gurye, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물