Seated Gilt-bronze Buddha (Amitabha Buddha)

This Buddha statue forms the hapumjungsaengin mudra, a hand gesture of Amitabha, with the thumb and middle finger touching. As no record of its production survives, its exact date of creation is hard to determine, but the treatment of the face, body and robes shows the typical style of the late Goryeo to early Joseon period. The head is covered entirely in tight snail-shell curls, and the usnisha, the raised knot of hair on the crown, is rendered low and broad. At the boundary between the head and the usnisha is a large hole where a mid-usnisha jewel was once fitted. The face is wide at the forehead and narrows toward the chin, forming a rounded, near-inverted-triangle shape, and between the brows is a large hole for the urna, the tuft-of-hair mark, 2.0 cm in diameter and 1.3 cm deep. The downcast eyes, as if looking down upon all sentient beings, give an impression of compassion. The cheeks are plump, the nose is prominent, and the ears are thick and long. The mid-usnisha jewel hole, the large urna hole, and the low, broad usnisha seen here are among the features frequently found in Goryeo-period iron and gilt-bronze Buddhas. On the neck, the three folds symbolising stages of enlightenment are closely rendered at intervals of about 1 cm, and the body, though not broad-shouldered, is neatly proportioned. This seated statue wears its robe covering both shoulders, with folds falling from both shoulders in dense pleats down below the knees. The fold hanging over the right arm is tucked inside the fold on the left, and beneath the outer robe an inner skirt is worn horizontally across the chest, tied above with a ribbon-shaped knot. This U-shaped ribbon knot is commonly seen in Buddhist statues of the late Goryeo to early Joseon period, appearing in many examples such as the Seated Gilt-bronze Bhaisajyaguru Buddha of Sanggoksa Temple (1346), the Seated Gilt-bronze Amitabha Buddha of Munsusa Temple (1346), the Amitabha Buddha of Sinamsa Temple, a seated gilt-bronze Buddha in the Buyeo National Museum (early 14th century), a seated gilt-bronze Amitabha Buddha in the Jinju National Museum (14th century), and the seated gilt-bronze Buddha of Sunpyeongsa Temple in Sunchang (around the 15th century). However, the metal fitting ornament that almost invariably appears below the left chest of late Goryeo Buddhist statues is absent here. The mudra formed is the hapumjungsaengin, one of Amitabha's mudras: the right hand is raised near the chest with the thumb and third finger touching, and the left hand is lowered to the knee, likewise with the first and third fingers touching. This mudra is typical of late Goryeo Amitabha statues, though here the left hand lowered toward the knee is turned slightly outward, a minor difference. Overall, the neat and stable rendering of the body shows the characteristics of the late Goryeo "elegant style," a term for the balanced, unexaggerated Buddhist statues that appeared in the 14th century after military rule ended and the capital returned from Ganghwa to Gaegyeong; yet the somewhat thick and formalised drapery folds, the drooping breasts, and the unusually small feet suggest a work from the end of Goryeo to the early Joseon period. Housed in the Seoul Museum of History, this statue is a typical gilt-bronze Buddha of the late Goryeo to early Joseon period and is of great documentary value for the study of 14th-century Buddhist statues. Its overall facial expression is serene, its outer robe finely rendered, and its state of preservation good.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산