Seated Yeonggwang Yeonheungsa Temple Wooden Three Ages Buddha

These are three seated wooden Buddha statues enshrined at Yeonheungsa Temple in Yeonggwang County. Yeonheungsa Temple was first built by State Preceptor Gakjin, was destroyed by fire during the Jeongyu War (1597), and was rebuilt in 1667, the eighth year of King Hyeonjong of Joseon, before being repaired several times down to the present day. The Sakyamuni Buddha at the centre has a very stable, tranquil air, as if absorbed in deep meditation. The head is covered with small snail-shell-shaped curls, a small topknot-shaped usnisha rises at the crown, and a crescent-shaped gyeju ornament sits at the middle of the head. The square face has realistically rendered eyes, nose and mouth, and the three folds of the neck (samdo) are clearly marked. The robe covering both shoulders has clear U-shaped folds, and between the open chest a straight, horizontal sash fold is visible; unlike the two flanking statues, this one is decorated with a lotus pattern. The right hand rests on the knee with the fingers pointing towards the ground in the earth-touching gesture that symbolises the subjugation of demons, while the left hand rests on the lap with the thumb and middle finger touching. The robe covering the knees fans out to either side, and the seated posture is the gilsangjwa, or auspicious posture, with the right foot resting over the left. The Bhaisajyaguru Buddha on the left follows the same style as the Sakyamuni Buddha in its head shape, facial expression, seated posture and the detailed technique of the drapery, differing only in the straight, horizontal sash fold on the chest. The right hand rests on the knee with the thumb and middle finger touching, while the left hand is raised to shoulder height, likewise with the thumb and middle finger touching. The Amitabha Buddha on the right is executed in almost the same detailed technique as the Sakyamuni and Bhaisajyaguru statues, differing only in its hand gestures: the right hand is raised to shoulder height with the thumb and middle finger touching, and the left hand rests on the knee, likewise with the thumb and middle finger touching. On the evidence of the Lotus Sutra (a Jeollanam-do Tangible Cultural Heritage) found among the votive objects placed inside the statues, and of the building's ridge-beam inscription, these Yeonheungsa Buddhas are presumed to have been made between 1628 and 1667, that is, in the mid-seventeenth century. As Joseon-period Buddhist statues they show outstanding carving technique, their date of production can be established relatively precisely, and the fact that all three figures are Buddhas rather than bodhisattvas gives them great scholarly and artistic value.

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Where it is

Region

Yeonggwang, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산