Mok Seated Bodhisattva of Bonwonjeongsa Temple (Ksitigarbha)

This is a wooden statue of the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, enshrined in the Myeongbujeon Hall of Bonwonjeongsa Temple. It is said to have originally been housed at Taegosa Temple on Samgaksan Mountain, and to have been moved to Bonwonjeongsa Temple after a fire broke out at Taegosa during the Korean War. Seated with the head bowed slightly, this Ksitigarbha has a face that feels somewhat broad and large in proportion to the body, but overall it is neat and well balanced, giving an impression of stability. The face has a broad forehead and large ears, and the head is shown bald, without hair. The body is not particularly large, but its volume is well expressed. The robe covers both shoulders, falling in natural folds that wrap around the whole figure. In particular, the hem falling from over the right shoulder drapes over the arm before tucking back into the garment worn underneath. The hands are later replacements, the originals having been destroyed by fire. In its overall form and seated posture, the detailed depiction of the robe and the manner of wearing it, the expression of volume, the wooden material and carving technique, and the method used to seal the cavity that once held votive objects inside the statue, it displays the characteristics of early 18th-century Buddhist statues. In its scale, carving technique and stylistic features, this wooden seated Ksitigarbha is considered representative of late Joseon wood sculpture.

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Where it is

Region

Gangbuk-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산