Seated Suncheon Seonamsa Temple Gilt-bronze Crown Eum Bodhisattva

The Seated Suncheon Seonamsa Temple Gilt-bronze Crown Eum Bodhisattva was found in 1988 during repairs to Cheonbuljeon Hall and is now displayed in the temple's Seongbo Museum. Its gilding, which had faded by the time of discovery, has since been reapplied. The bodhisattva wears an elaborate crown in the samsan-gwan, or "three-peak crown", form. A miniature transformation Buddha at its centre identifies the figure as Gwaneum (Avalokitesvara) Bodhisattva. The crown is highly ornamental, its lavish decorativeness a style that first emerged in China at the transition from the late Ming to the early Qing dynasty. The face is broad and flat, giving the figure the air of Lamaist Buddhist images; the eyebrows and eyes are raised toward the outer ears, the nose is sharp and prominent, and the mouth carries a faint smile. The neck is very slender and shows the three creases known as samdo, and on either side round earrings decorated with a beaded pattern rest on the shoulders. The celestial scarf drapes over both shoulders, beneath which U-shaped strings of beaded ornament (yeongnak) hang down over the breasts. The front of the upper body is left entirely bare, while at the back a thick fold of the celestial scarf covers the torso. The hand gesture is that of the lowest of the nine grades of Amitabha's rebirth, the "lower of the lower". The bodhisattva sits in the gilsangjwa posture, with the right foot placed outward and the left foot tucked inward. The folds of the lower garment cover both knees with highly dynamic drapery. Two-strand bracelets are worn at the wrists and elbows, and anklets at the ankles as well; a fan-shaped fold of the lower garment at the centre of the front, between the knees, is especially notable. The pedestal takes the "joined" form, in which an upward- and a downward-facing lotus are directly connected without an intervening middle tier. The upper and lower edges of the pedestal are decorated with single-petalled lotus designs of nineteen petals each, bordered on the outside by a very fine beaded pattern. The lavish ornamentation of this seated gilt-bronze Gwaneum Bodhisattva, together with its strings of beaded ornament and the joined form of its pedestal, reflects the Lamaist Buddhist style that appeared in the late Goryeo period, and the statue is accordingly presumed to date from the 14th–15th century. Lamaist Buddhism refers to a branch of Buddhism with a strong esoteric character that flourished not only in Tibet, in China's western regions, but also in Inner Mongolia, Nepal and elsewhere. Elements of this Lamaist style that developed in the late Goryeo period survive in considerable numbers not only in Korean stone pagodas, such as the five-storey stone pagoda of Magoksa Temple, but also in gilt-bronze reliquaries and, in particular, in gilt-bronze Buddhist images. This statue is therefore valuable as material evidence of the influence of Lamaist Buddhism in the 14th–15th century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suncheon, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산