East and West Three-story Stone Pagodas at Geumdangam Hermitage of Donghwasa Temple, Daegu

These are two stone pagodas standing to the east and west in front of Geungnakjeon Hall at Geumdangam Hermitage of Donghwasa Temple; both have a three-storey body raised on a two-tier foundation (gidan). Most of the east pagoda's two-tier foundation was repaired at a later date, so the stonework technique and finishing do not entirely match. On each face of the upper foundation tier, pillar shapes are carved in the centre and at the corners. The body stones and roof stones were each carved separately and stacked; each body stone has pillar-shaped carvings only at its corners, with no other decoration, and the underside of each roof stone has four tiers of supports. At the top, the finial elements are placed in sequence: a noban (finial base), a bokbal (an ornament shaped like an overturned bowl), an anghwa (an ornament shaped like a rising lotus flower), and a boju (an ornament shaped like a lotus bud). In the west pagoda, pillar shapes are carved only in the centre of two faces of the upper foundation tier, while on the opposite faces an infill stone between the pillars was used as the corner pillar. Each storey's body stone and roof stone consists of a single stone, with pillar-shaped carvings at each corner of the body stones, and the underside of the roof stones has four tiers of supports. At the top, only the square stone that once supported the finial remains, with an iron rod rising above it that once held the finial's centre of gravity in place. In 1957 the pagodas were dismantled and restored, and inside them ninety-nine small pagodas and a reliquary for the Buddha's sari (relics) were found. Apart from their partly missing finials, the two pagodas are similar in carving style and finishing technique, and their well-balanced proportions give a light, buoyant impression. The detailed style of the foundation, the pagoda body and the finial shows the typical form of pagodas of the late Unified Silla period.

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Where it is

Region

Dong-gu, Daegu

Designation

Treasure · 보물