West Three-story Stone Pagoda in Suljeong-ri, Changnyeong

The name of the temple to which this pagoda once belonged has not been passed down. It is a standard Silla-style stone pagoda, with a three-story body raised on a two-tier foundation. This pagoda shows the unusual technique of constructing both the upper and lower tiers of the foundation from eight stones each. The lower tier of the foundation is assembled from eight stones, each carved as a single piece with the base stone; corner pilasters are carved in imitation of columns at each corner, and two central pilasters are carved between them. The upper tier of the foundation is likewise made up of eight stones; a small slab is inserted in the middle of each face, and, rather than corner pilasters, two eye-shaped niches (ansang) are carved on each of the four faces. The stone now set into the middle of the south face bears a roughly carved door-panel design, which is thought to be later work. The body of the pagoda has its body stones and roof stones each made of a single stone, and pillar shapes are carved at the four corners of the body stones. The roof stones have thin, flat rain-drip surfaces, with five-tiered supports on the underside, and the four corners are distinctly upturned, giving a light, buoyant look. At the top of the pagoda, only a square noban, the base of the finial, topped by a bokbal, an upturned bowl-shaped ornament, survives as the finial decoration. This pagoda originally stood together with the East Three-story Stone Pagoda in Suljeong-ri, Changnyeong, but the distance between them was considerable, and they appear to be separate pagodas rather than a pair standing at the same temple site. Although both are works of the Unified Silla period, in overall carving technique this pagoda is somewhat inferior to the East Three-story Stone Pagoda in Suljeong-ri, Changnyeong, and appears to have been built considerably later.

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Where it is

Region

Changnyeong, Gyeongnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물