Iron Seated Buddha in Seonwon-dong, Yeongcheon

From the late Unified Silla period through the Goryeo period, iron Buddhist statues came into fashion. The Iron Seated Buddha in Seonwon-dong, Yeongcheon, with its stable bodily proportions and voluminous build, shows the appearance of an early Goryeo statue that inherits the sculptural style of the Unified Silla period. Atop the head is a topknot-like protrusion (usnisha), and above the forehead the crescent-moon shape often seen in Goryeo-period Buddhist statues is clearly rendered. The face is rather round, and the raised eyebrows, long corners of the eyes, short philtrum and firmly closed mouth give it a solemn expression. The robe, which bares the right shoulder and is draped only over the left, is rendered very thinly, revealing the full contours of the body beneath. The simplified folds of the robe are not as completely geometric and schematic as those of the Iron Seated Vairocana Buddha held at the National Museum of Korea or the Iron Seated Buddha at Danhosa Temple, a treasure, allowing the process by which the style of iron seated Buddhas developed in the Goryeo period to be traced. With the crescent shape on the head, the somewhat stiff rendering of the face, and the simplified treatment of the body, this outstanding iron statue is noted as representative of the early Goryeo sculptural style.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeongcheon, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물