Wooden Child Manjusri and Samantabhadra of Dogapsa Temple, Yeongam

These are wooden child figures (dongja) housed inside Haetalmun Gate of Dogapsa Temple, which was founded by Doseon in the late Silla period. Haetalmun Gate of Dogapsa Temple, Yeongam, a National Treasure, is a single-storey building three bays wide and two bays deep, and the child figures are enshrined in its rear left and right bays. The two figures, riding a lion and an elephant respectively, are about 1.8 m in total height and around 1.1 m in seated height; they are similar in size and identical in carving technique. Seated astride the animals with their legs drawn together in front, the figures were carved separately from the animal mounts and then joined to them, and the hands too were made separately and fitted on; the present hands are thought to be later replacements. The hairstyles of the two figures are tied up in a highly elaborate manner, and their gentle, well-rounded features convey the innocent look of children. Because they ride a lion and an elephant, the two are presumed to be manifestations of Manjusri Bodhisattva, the symbol of wisdom, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, the symbol of practice; among the rare examples of child figures mounted on a lion and an elephant, this is the only one made of wood. Records discovered in 1960, when Haetalmun Gate was dismantled and restored, showed that the gate was built in 1473, and the child figures enshrined within it are presumed to have been made at the same time.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeongam, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물