Gwangju Sipsinsa Temple Epitaph Tablet Buddha

This Buddha was discovered on the site of Daehwangsa Temple, then moved to the former site of Gwangju Agricultural High School, and is now kept at the Gwangju History and Folk Museum. The image is simply carved on the surface of an octagonal stone pillar, showing the Buddha figure and its pedestal. There is a hole in the bald head, suggesting that a jewelled crown was once worn there, and the flat, oval face conveys the expression of a native guardian deity. Without altering the shape of the stone pillar, the shoulders were carved almost as wide as the face, so that the body appears shrunken. The right hand is raised towards the chest, holding what appears to be a wish-fulfilling jewel, while the left hand rests on the stomach, gripping the folds of the robe; compared with the face, this part looks stiff and the carving technique also appears inferior. The pedestal bears carvings of a lotus design and small buddhas, which likewise look stiff. Although the jewel held in the hand might lead one to mistake this figure for a bodhisattva, it is more accurate to see it as a depiction of Maitreya Buddha, rendered with a simplified, block-like body. Rather than formal beauty, this stone image belongs to a group of Goryeo-period stone buddhas in which sheer scale took precedence, and it shows well the regional style of stone buddhas of the Goryeo period.

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Where it is

Region

Buk-gu, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산