Samneunggye Valley Valley Rock-carved Avalokitesvara Statue

This statue, in Samneunggye Valley on Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju, is a relief carved onto a pillar-like rock face: a standing image of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva on a lotus pedestal. It wears a jewelled crown, and its face, wreathed in a full smile, well expresses the Buddha's compassion. In one hand it holds a precious vase, which, together with the crown, identifies the statue as Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva who saves sentient beings in this world through compassion. Behind the statue, a pillar-shaped rock serves as its halo, giving an impression of artifice added to natural beauty. The exact date and the sculptor are not known, but the statue is presumed to be a work of the 8th to 9th century, the Unified Silla period. The headless statue standing to the east of this one was excavated from a pine forest about 100 m to the south and moved to its present location.

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Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산