Rock-carved Seated Buddha in Bulgok Valley of Namsan Mountain, Gyeongju

On the eastern slope of Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju, in Bulgok ('Buddha Valley'), a stone cave over 1m deep has been carved into a rock face to hold this seated Buddha image. The Buddha's head appears to be covered with something like a hood, which extends down to cover the ears. The face is round and tilted slightly downward, and an inward smile spreads across the somewhat swollen eyes and the deeply carved corners of the mouth. In this respect it resembles the Stone Seated Buddha excavated from Inwang-dong, Gyeongju, now held in the Gyeongju National Museum, but overall its posture is more beautiful and feminine. The robe draped over both shoulders flows down long enough to cover even the pedestal on which the Buddha sits, and the folds of the hem are carved softly, like rippling waves, so that the whole forms a beautiful harmony. This stone Buddha is the oldest of the Silla stone Buddhas surviving on Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju, believed to have been made in the late Three Kingdoms period, and it is because of this image that the valley came to be called Bulgok, 'Buddha Valley.'

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Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물