Stone Three Buddha Statues of Cheongnyongsa Temple

The Buddha statues of Cheongnyongsa Temple are a set of three stone Buddha images currently kept in the head monk's quarters of Cheongnyongsa Temple in Seoul. A votive text recently discovered beneath the pedestal of the statue on the proper left revealed that in 1902 (the sixth year of the Gwangmu era) the statues were regilded and given a fresh coat of white powder before being enshrined in the Daeungjeon Hall of Cheongnyongsa Temple on Samgaksan Mountain. According to tradition, the statues were brought from Simwonsa Temple in Cheorwon, Gangwon State, and judging from their size, material (a soft stone used for Buddhist images) and style, they appear to be part of a set of a thousand Buddha images. Apart from minor differences in hand gestures and the treatment of the robes, the three are identical in size, form and style, suggesting they were made together. Overall the faces are rather large in proportion to the bodies, but the stable, triangular posture and the modelling are considered characteristic of Buddhist sculpture of the late Joseon period. According to the votive text found on the statue on the proper left, the statues were regilded and given a fresh coat of white powder in 1902, and since the Buddhist painter-monk Hanbong Changyeop, who was active mainly in Gyeonggi-do in the late Joseon period, took part as the master gilder, the statues themselves are thought to have been made before 1902, probably in the latter half of the 19th century. These three stone Buddha statues, part of a set of a thousand Buddha images, are considered representative of the typical style of Buddhist statues of the late Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산