Seated Ssanggyesa Temple Wooden Buddha

It is enshrined in Geungnakbojeon Hall of Ssanggyesa Temple, but as there is no specific record, the date of production and the sculptor are unknown. However, another plaque at Ssanggyesa Temple records that in 1745 (the 21st year of King Yeongjo) a temple that had fallen into ruin was rebuilt and named Ssanggyesa Temple, and it appears that this Buddha image was made at the same time. The statue has a head that is large in proportion to the body, and sits in a slightly stooped posture with the face pushed a little forward, wearing a solemn expression. Its square face and body, and drapery rendered so thickly that the volume of the body beneath does not show through, follow the characteristics of late Joseon-period Buddhist statues. The hair is rendered as sharp nabal, tightly coiled curls resembling a conch shell, and the boundary of the usnisa (the cranial protuberance, originating from the topknot Indians once wore, symbolising the Buddha's great and lofty wisdom) is indistinct. The cylindrical and half-moon-shaped topknot beads at the crown of the head and the centre of the forehead are also a feature typical of late Joseon Buddhist statues. In particular, the square face has cheeks that appear excessively swollen, as if air had been blown into them, and the horizontal, angular eyebrow lines, the straight nose that continues from them, the broad philtrum, and the round chin carved in at the corners of the mouth together give an unfamiliar, hard yet distinctive impression, as if the face had been carved with a knife. The two hands, made separately and attached, are raised and lowered with thumb and middle finger touching, but their positions are the reverse of the mudra usually seen on images of Amitabha Buddha.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Ansan, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산