Stone Lotus Pedestal Hadaeseok of Beomeosa Temple

The pedestal of the wooden seated Buddha enshrined in Mireukjeon Hall of Beomeosa Temple consists of three tiers: an octagonal stone lower base (hadaeseok), a drum-shaped stone middle stone, and a wooden lotus-shaped upper stone. Of these, the large octagonal lower base, 147 cm across, has lost part of its corners and panel stones and bears traces of fire damage here and there on its surface, though its overall original form survives well. On the lower part of the base, corner pillars are not represented; instead, ledges are formed at top and bottom, and on the central panel stones a single ansang — a shallow, eye-shaped decorative niche — is carved on each face. On the upper part, above a single ledge, sixteen petals of a multi-lobed inverted lotus and interstitial leaves are carved in relief. Compared with the strongly three-dimensional relief of multi-lobed inverted-lotus patterns commonly seen on stone Buddha pedestals of the eighth century, the height of Unified Silla's golden age, this lower base shows the flatter carving style typical of stone pedestals made from the ninth century onward. The carving technique of its ansang niches also resembles that on the three-storey stone pagoda at Beomeosa Temple, suggesting the pedestal may have been made at the same time as the pagoda, itself thought to date from around the ninth century; it is also understood to correspond with the record in the Beomeosa Changgeon Sajeokgi (Record of the Founding of Beomeosa Temple) that the temple was founded under King Heungdeok of Silla (826-836) and that a stone image of Maitreya was made at that time. However, since the carving also shows features of the early Goryeo period, it is judged to have been made sometime between the early ninth century and early Goryeo. Bearing traces of the fire from the Japanese invasions of 1592-98, it is a valuable relic that accords with the surviving records of the temple's founding and later restorations.

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Where it is

Region

Geumjeong-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산