Seated Gwangju Geungnaksa Temple Stone Ksitigarbha

This is a Ksitigarbha bodhisattva image of the Joseon period enshrined in Daeungjeon Hall at Geungnaksa Temple. It is a small image about 47 cm tall, with a head that is large in proportion to the body. It takes the form of a shaven-headed monk-bodhisattva with a round face, plump cheeks and a prominent nose at its centre. The narrow, elongated eyes to either side of the nose and the slightly closed mouth, touched with a smile, give the face a gentle, warm expression. The outer robe follows the so-called "double-layered" format, in which a further fold of cloth overlaps part of the garment draped over both shoulders. Here the fold draped over the right shoulder and the fold at the left shoulder are each turned back once, and the fold flowing down from the left shoulder is rendered in an Ω shape at the forearm. Across the chest the hem of the undergarment lies horizontally, with a knot tying it that forms a semicircular curve hanging down to either side. This treatment of the folds — the horizontal hem at the chest together with the characteristic folds at the shoulders and forearms — is a feature seen in Buddhist images of the early Joseon period, in the fifteenth century, continuing the style of the Goryeo period. Fifteenth-century images, however, tend to have an elongated upper body, so they differ in this respect from the Geungnaksa image. The long triangular fold of drapery hanging down the centre of the legs is likewise a feature rarely found in other Buddhist images. The Seated Stone Ksitigarbha of Geungnaksa Temple has both hands placed one over the other on the crossed legs, in the meditation mudra (seonjeong-in); this gesture appears to have been adopted in order to hold up a wish-fulfilling jewel.

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Where it is

Region

Gwangju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산