Rock-carved Seated Buddha at Golguram Hermitage, Gyeongju

This is a rock-carved seated Buddha located at the very top of twelve grottoes made using natural caves in the high rock face of Golguram Hermitage. In the painting "Golgul Seokgul" by the Joseon-period painter Jeong Seon, a wooden front hall is depicted before the grotto, but today only traces remain on the rock. Above the bare head rises a tall topknot-shaped protuberance (yukgye), and the clearly outlined face, with its narrowed eyes, small mouth and narrow, long nose, shows a degree of stylisation more advanced than in earlier works. In contrast to the strongly three-dimensional face, the body is rendered flatly, the shoulders almost horizontal and broad; the neck and upper chest are damaged. The drapery folds are mostly regular parallel lines, and between the armpits is a V-shaped pattern marking the curve of the arms and body. The halo, carved directly into the rock face, can be traced through the lotus pattern on the head halo and the rhythmic flame pattern around the body halo. The flat body, the thin, step-like drapery folds, and the U-shaped folds between the armpits are all similar to the stone seated Vairocana Buddha and its wooden halo at Chukseosa Temple in Bonghwa, made in 867, suggesting that this work too dates from the late Unified Silla period.

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Visiting

Information

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Visitor information: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 1

Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물