Seated Wooden Buddha of Donghwasa Temple, Pocheon

This is one of the representative medium-sized wooden Buddha statues of the late Joseon period whose date and maker are known. According to a votive text that emerged when the surface gilding was renewed in 1972 (the original has since been stolen, and only a copied transcription now survives), it was revealed that this is one of the statues carved on 16 July 1649, the 27th year of King Injo, by the sculptor-monks Sain (1614-1656) and Sangnim, who made a Sakyamuni Triad and Sixteen Arhats and enshrined them at Manilsa Temple on Mount Hoemunsan in Sunchang, Jeollabuk-do. The monk Sain, who carved this statue, was a sculptor active in the mid-to-late seventeenth century, and he also collaborated on Buddha images with other renowned sculptor-monks of the time, including Hyeonjin, Suyeon and Muyeom. Seated, the Buddha forms the earth-touching gesture, the right hand extended straight down past the knee, and leans the upper body forward in a slightly stooped posture; even so, the proportions of the face and body are harmonious, giving an overall impression of neatness. The decorative drapery that partly covers the right shoulder and cascades down in fan-shaped tiers, the folded drapery at the side of the left shoulder, the drapery at the centre of the lower body leaning to one side in a soft curve, and the petal-shaped sleeve hanging over the left knee are all carving features found in the Buddha images of the sculptor-monk Suyeon and his disciples. However, the excessively thick rendering of the drapery gives the impression that the Buddha's body is encased in stiff armour, and the ears, too, are disproportionately large and prominent. The expressionless, square face, the blocky, rectangular composition of the body, the flat modelling without curvature, and the schematic folds at the top of the skirt crossing the chest all clearly reveal the characteristics of late-Joseon Buddha statues.

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Where it is

Region

Pocheon, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산