Seated Stone Amitabha Buddha of Bohyeonam Hermitage, Eumseong

The Seated Stone Amitabha Buddha of Bohyeonam Hermitage is enshrined at Bohyeonam Hermitage, which stands on the old temple site known as Tapgolsaji in Mugeuk-ri, Geumwang-eup. The statue was excavated from the grounds of Oseon Elementary School in Oseon-ri, Geumwang-eup, and moved to its present location around 1970. The statue was carved from a single block of granite in the form of a boat-shaped body halo, with the seated Buddha and its halo intricately carved together. It survives in generally good condition, although part of the right knee is damaged. The statue is estimated to date from around the mid-Goryeo to early Joseon period. On the head, a low, flattened usnisa survives, and the hair is braided at both sides and swept behind the ears, the right side reaching down past the ear to touch the shoulder. The face is full and rounded, with a white-curl mark socket on the forehead, and the eyes appear half-closed but are worn. The ears hang long. Instead of the usual three curved lines on the neck, the figure is adorned with a necklace rendered as a single thick incised line. The robe is worn draped over the left shoulder only, and the undergarment and its knot are rendered in thick relief. The hand gesture is the one commonly seen on Amitabha images, with both hands held together over the abdomen. Flame patterns are rendered in relatively fine detail across the whole of the boat-shaped halo. As the seated image and its halo were carved from a single stone, this is not a large or especially elaborate example of an Amitabha statue, but the well-rendered facial expression, the hunched posture, the robe draped over only part of the body, and the Amitabha mudra together suggest a distinctive style following the characteristics of Lamaist-influenced statues of the late Goryeo to early Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Eumseong, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산