Inscribed "Gwangmu4nyeon" Nectar Ritual Painting of Tongdosa Temple, Yangsan

This painting is preserved at Tongdosa Temple. A gamnotaeng, or nectar ritual painting, depicts the salvation of souls fallen into hell, guiding them to paradise. Painted in colour on silk, the composition is broadly divided into upper and lower registers. At the centre of the upper register the Seven Buddhas stand on lotus flowers, and below them is an altar lavishly laid out with incense burners, candlesticks, flowers and confections. To either side of the Buddha images are placed, respectively, Illowang Bosal, the bodhisattva who guides souls, and the bodhisattvas Jijang (Kshitigarbha), Gwaneum (Avalokiteshvara) and Daeseji (Mahasthamaprapta). Below the bodhisattvas on either side are depicted, against a backdrop of a fortress wall, a royal procession with a crowd, and ritual monks performing beompae chant and jakbeop ritual dance. The upper and lower registers are separated by hill ridges and clouds. At the centre of the lower register are two huge hungry ghosts encircled by clouds and flames, around which are depicted scenes of hell, a sadangpae, an itinerant troupe of performers, walking a tightrope (jultagi), and scenes of fighting and war. An inscription in the lower part of the painting records that it was made in the fourth year of the Gwangmu era of the Korean Empire (1900). Given its condition, iconography and painting style, the inscribed Gwangmu 4th-year Nectar Ritual Painting of Tongdosa Temple, Yangsan, is regarded as important material for the study of the history of Joseon-period Buddhist painting.

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Where it is

Region

Yangsan, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산