Daeungjeon Hall Buddha Triad of Anyangam Hermitage (Amitabha Bul, Avalokitesvara , Ksitigarbha)

This is an Amitabha triad in which the central seated Amitabha Buddha is flanked by Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvas. The Amitabha statue is made of wood, the Avalokitesvara statue is carved from jade, and the third figure is made of moulded clay. The central seated Amitabha Buddha is said to have been brought from Geonbongsa Temple in Goseong. It has a square face with a broad, flattened usnisha (the cranial protuberance symbolising enlightenment), and its robe, worn covering both shoulders, forms a 'W' shape across the chest, a style typical of nineteenth-century statues. The Avalokitesvara statue wears a plain, unadorned crown and sits in an unusual pose on a chair, with the left leg lowered and the right leg raised. A distinctive feature is the carving of Vajra guardian figures and child attendants on either side of the pedestal. The Ksitigarbha statue is the only one of the three for which a record of its date and maker survives. It has the shaven head of a monk and a square face, giving it the overall look of a handsome young man. Since the three figures are made of different materials, wood, jade and plaster, it is unclear whether they were conceived together as a triad from the outset, though they are thought to date from roughly the same period. The Anyangamji (Record of Anyangam Hermitage) records that the Ksitigarbha statue was made in 1889 by Gyeongseong, suggesting that all three statues were produced around the time Anyangam Hermitage was founded and enshrined together in the Daeungjeon Hall. They are representative Buddhist statues of the late nineteenth century, and their original form remains well preserved.

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Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산