Guryongsa Temple Samjang Buddhist Painting and Votive Objects

Painted in 1727, the third year of King Yeongjo, this samjang taenghwa (a Buddhist painting of the Three Treasury Bodhisattvas) is a rare survival of early eighteenth-century religious painting in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province. It is not only well preserved but also of outstanding quality, seen in its neat, delicately rendered faces, fluid brushwork and finely worked patterns. A samjang taenghwa depicts Cheonjang Bosal, Jiji Bosal and Jijang Bosal together with their attendant retinues; although the precise origin of this iconography has not been established, it appears to have developed out of the deepening and spreading worship of Jijang Bosal, and is known as an iconographic type formed and developed uniquely in Korea. The retinue of Cheonjang Bosal comprises the bodhisattvas Jinju (Pearl) and Daejinju (Great Pearl) and a host of heavenly beings; the retinue of Jiji Bosal comprises Yongsu, Darani Bosal and a host of guardian spirits; and the retinue of Jijang Bosal comprises the Venerable Domyeong, Mudok, King of Ghosts, and the Ten Kings of the underworld. In the composition, Cheonjang Bosal is placed at the centre, with Jiji Bosal to his left and Jijang Bosal to his right; attendants stand in attendance on either side of each bodhisattva's pedestal, and the retinues are densely depicted in the spaces to either side of the three bodhisattvas, filling the picture plane without a gap. Each bodhisattva sits in the lotus position on a high Sumeru-shaped pedestal above a lotus throne, forming the mudra of preaching the Dharma; Jiji Bosal holds a sutra book in the left hand, while Jijang Bosal holds a wish-fulfilling jewel in the right hand and a khakkhara, a monk's ringed staff, in the left. The faces are round with pointed chins, the features very small and delicately rendered, giving a neat and dignified appearance. At three points along the lower edge of the painting, beneath Cheonjang Bosal, Jiji Bosal and Jijang Bosal respectively, rectangular cartouches record the date of production, the painter-monks, the list of donors and the list of participants in the ceremony, written in black on a red ground; these show that the painting was made in 1727, the third year of King Yeongjo, by the painter-monks Baekgi and Yeonghwi, a fact also confirmed by a votive text found in the votive pouch that had hung above the painting. Among the Buddhist paintings enshrined in temples across the country today, most of those referred to as old paintings date from after the Qianlong reign period (1736–1795), so Buddhist paintings such as this one, from the Yongzheng reign period (1723–1735) or the Kangxi reign period (1662–1722), are very rare. Buddhist paintings of the first half of the eighteenth century and of the second half differ stylistically in several respects, most notably in colouring: paintings of the earlier period, as in this samjang taenghwa, are marked by vivid, brilliant colours. This painting is among the earliest in date of the surviving late Joseon Buddhist paintings, is very well preserved, and displays an outstanding style — meticulous composition, elegant and beautiful faces, refined brushwork, delicately patterned motifs, and red and green clouds with brightly rendered outlines — making it a work of exceptional quality. The votive objects were enshrined in the votive pouch that hung above the painting, and comprise two votive texts, one dharani print, the votive pouch itself, a huryeongtong (a small sealed container enshrining sacred objects inside the pouch) and a cloth wrapper. The votive text is briefer than the inscription on the painting but records the same content: it reads, in translation, "in the fifth month of the jeongmi year, the fifth year of the Yongzheng era, the Three Treasury [painting] was completed…", confirming that it was made in 1727, the third year of King Yeongjo, and recording the painter-monks as Baekgi and Yeonghwi. The votive pouch, 11.6 cm wide and 13.5 cm long, is made of cloth and consists of two parts: an upper section shaped like three mountain peaks and a lower, oval section.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Pyeongchang, Gangwon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산