Seated Bronze Buddha and Bronze Reliquary Pagoda of Tongdosa Temple, Yangsan

This bronze Buddha statue and reliquary pagoda were excavated at Habuk-myeon, Yangsan-gun, South Gyeongsang Province. The Buddha sits before a flame-patterned mandorla, but because it is crudely made and its surface heavily corroded, its precise features are difficult to make out. Small conch-shell-shaped curls of hair are attached to the head, and a topknot-shaped protrusion rises from the crown. The face has a small nose and mouth, giving it an unbalanced appearance. The robe is draped over both shoulders, with folds carved on the left shoulder and below the waist. The right hand is raised to shoulder height with the fingertips pointing upward and the palm showing, while the left hand is held at the level of the navel. The legs are rendered far too small in proportion to the upper body, so that the figure as a whole lacks harmony. Given its small size of 11.3 cm, it appears to have been made to be carried, and it is presumed to date from the Goryeo period. Of the bronze reliquary pagoda, only the three-storey body and the finial now survive; the base is too badly damaged for its original form to be known with certainty. What remains shows that the three-storey body faithfully imitates a wooden pagoda, while the finial follows the form of an ordinary stone pagoda. Wind chimes hang from the four corners of the third-storey roof, which is carved with grooves in imitation of the tiles of a wooden building. Although not a complete example, it provides valuable material for the study of reliquaries and pagodas of the Goryeo period.

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Where it is

Region

Yangsan, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산