Seated Wooden Manjusri Bodhisattva and Votive Objects of Gyeongeunsa Temple, Jecheon

The Seated Wooden Manjusri Bodhisattva of Gyeongeunsa Temple is an image that has long been preserved at the temple as a secret Buddha (bibul, an image kept hidden and worshipped only on special occasions). According to the votive record found inside it, the statue was made in the ninth year of the Chongzhen era (1636, the fourteenth year of King Injo). A note written in red ink also suggests that the statue was regilded in the eleventh year of the Gwangmu era of the Korean Empire (1907). It is a small statue, 30 cm in seated height, wearing a hood on its head; its face is full and serene, and its features — the space between the eyebrows, the bridge of the nose, and the lips — are all finely and carefully rendered. Between the eyebrows is a baekho, a tuft-mark symbolising the Buddha's wisdom, and the neck bears the three folds (samdo) traditionally marking a Buddha's neck. The ears are not especially long, but the three folds of the neck complete a full and compassionate expression. The robe is worn over both shoulders, flowing gracefully down to cover both knees. On the chest is shown a plain sash of the undergarment, and the black hair flows down over the shoulders, forming a broad knot before dividing into two strands that flow down over both arms. The hand gesture is the meditation mudra, formed in front of the navel with both hands joined, palms half-turned inward; the rendering of the fingers and thumbs is realistic. It is said that this statue recently underwent a regilding ceremony, during which a single sheet of mulberry paper bearing an ink-written record of its making was found inside. It is headed "Reverently newly made", and at the very beginning it reads "The Great Wisdom Manjusri Bodhisattva", making clear that the venerable name of this bodhisattva image is Manjusri. At the end, it reads: "On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month of the byeongja year, the ninth year of Chongzhen, the fundraising monk Kim Chun-saeng humbly prays that...", which records the date of production and confirms that the statue was made in the fourteenth year of King Injo, the sixteenth ruler of Joseon (1636). The ink-written record titled "Reverently newly made" measures 71.5 cm by 24.5 cm, with characters 1.5 cm by 2.5 cm in size. A separate single sheet bearing a record written in red ink was also found together with it, measuring 37 cm by 33 cm, with characters 1 cm by 1.5–2.05 cm in size. At its end is recorded "the eighth day of the fourth month of the jeongmi year, the tenth year of Gwangmu of the Korean Empire", corresponding to 1907, which is presumed to record the regilding done at that time. The measured dimensions are: total height 30 cm, head height 10 cm, shoulder width 12 cm, chest width 5 cm, knee height 7 cm, knee width 19.5 cm, and base 20 cm by 15 cm. This Seated Wooden Manjusri Bodhisattva is notable for its full, serene facial features, well-proportioned body, and gracefully flowing robe folds. In particular, with no damaged areas at all, a neat posture, and the rare form of a hooded head covering, and with its date of production made certain by the votive record inside as an early seventeenth-century work, it is valuable material that reveals the style of Buddhist statues of the late Joseon period.

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Where it is

Region

Jecheon, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산