Songgwangsa Temple Obaengnahan Statue (set)

These are the Buddhist statues enshrined in the Nahanjeon Hall of Songgwangsa Temple in Soyang-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeollabuk-do: 526 statues in all, comprising a triad of three central figures, sixteen arhat (nahan) statues, five hundred arhat statues, one statue of Indra, two child-attendant statues, two guardian statues and two lion statues. The principal Buddha sits on a wooden pedestal carved with a lotus design; the face is full and rounded, with the ears rendered short, and the refined features convey both solemnity and compassion. The robe, covering both shoulders, is carved with thick folds, and the fold falling from the left shoulder drapes over the left arm to cover the knee; the right hand rests lightly on the knee, while the fingertips of the left hand point down towards the ground. Around this seated Sakyamuni Buddha are arranged attendant bodhisattvas, arhats, guardian figures and child attendants on either side. A recently discovered record shows that the statues were made in 1656, the seventh year of King Hyojong of Joseon; some of the five hundred arhat statues were later recast in plaster moulds and restored. The principal Buddha and the other statues in the Nahanjeon Hall are, taken together, a valuable body of work of relatively fine artistic quality.

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Where it is

Region

Wanju, Jeonbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산