Daeungjeon Hall Seated Stone Buddha Triad of Unsusa Temple

The Daeungjeon Hall Seated Stone Buddha Triad of Unsusa Temple is carved from bulseok (a form of zeolite) widely used in the Yeongnam region in the late Joseon period, a material considered a distinctive feature of Buddhist statuary in this region, in contrast to the wood and clay images that prevailed across Joseon as a whole. Although its absolute date is unknown, the style of the triad inherits seventeenth-century conventions while also showing the formulaic, flattened qualities of the eighteenth century; this dating is further corroborated by its broad agreement with the record in the Jungsu Mokpangi (Wooden Board Record of Restoration) that survives at Unsusa Temple. Among the triad, the bodhisattva to the Buddha's left wears cheonui, the traditional bodhisattva robe, unlike the bodhisattva to the right, which is dressed in the manner of a Buddha; it also wears bracelet-like ornaments on both arms, a feature that distinguishes it from other Buddha triads of the late Joseon period. The Daeungjeon Hall Seated Stone Buddha Triad of Unsusa Temple is valued as a work that clearly reveals the individual style of a Joseon-period sculptor-monk, or a distinct regional character, through its material, its manner of dress, the wooden crowns of the bodhisattvas, their distinctive hand gestures and the individual faces of the three figures; it holds an important place among the surviving Buddhist statues of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the Busan and Gyeongnam region, and is designated as a city-level heritage item.

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Where it is

Region

Sasang-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산