Stone Seated Buddha of Gounsa Temple, Uiseong

This is a complete Buddha image, virtually undamaged, with both a pedestal and a halo. The head is covered with small snail-shaped curls, and the square face bears small, finely rendered eyes, nose and mouth. The chest is well developed and the waist narrow, but the slightly raised shoulders give the figure a somewhat unsteady posture. The right hand, its palm resting on the knee with the fingertips seeming to point towards the ground, is broken; the left hand, palm upturned, is placed before the navel in a rather unnatural pose. The robe covering the left shoulder falls in regular, parallel folds, while the folds over the legs and arms are rendered in a more schematic manner. The halo, shaped like a boat with sharply pointed ends, represents the light radiating from the Buddha's whole body; both the head halo and the body halo are decorated with lotus and scrolling-vine motifs, with flames depicted blazing around the edge. The pedestal consists of upper, middle and lower stones: the upper stone is carved as if upholding a lotus flower from below, the octagonal middle stone has its corners decorated in the form of pillars, and the lower stone is carved in the shape of overturned lotus petals. In its head, face, body, drapery folds, pedestal and halo, this Buddha image displays the characteristic style of the ninth century, clearly distinct from Buddhist images of the eighth century.

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Where it is

Region

Uiseong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물