Seated Wooden Bodhisattva of Gwangsansa Temple, Changwon

The Amitabha Triad is enshrined on the central altar of the Daeungjeon Hall at Gwangsansa Temple; among the three figures, the one designated as a Gyeongsangnam-do Tangible Cultural Heritage is the Mahasthamaprapta (Daeseji) Bodhisattva on the (proper) left. The bodhisattva sits in the full lotus position with a gently curved back and the head bowed slightly forward. The hand gesture is the Middle Grade Lower Birth mudra (jungpum hasaeng-in): both hands, holding a lotus stem, join the thumb and middle finger, with the right hand raised to chest level and the left hand, palm up, resting on the left knee. The hands, carved separately and attached, are notably thick and broad, and the sides of the hands and the thumb are cut at an angle — a feature that sets this piece apart from other Buddhist sculptures, which typically carve the fingers slender and long. The head wears a crown decorated with a flaming-jewel motif and floral patterns; beneath the crown, the hair is divided at regular intervals and rendered with incised lines to depict individual strands, though the back of the head omits this detail and is left plain. The face is squarish with a relatively narrow forehead, and the cheeks and chin are full. The eyes are long and horizontal; the nose is large yet prominent, taking on a hawk-like shape; the philtrum is short but clearly defined; and the thin, elongated lips curve slightly upward at the corners in a faint smile. Three curved lines (samdo), a standard iconographic feature, are carved on the neck. The robe is worn in a modified both-shoulders-covered style: an inner robe (pyeonsam) covers the right shoulder, and over it the outer robe (daeui) covers the right side halfway, is drawn out towards the armpit, wraps around the abdomen, and is thrown over the left shoulder. A notable feature is the rendering of the back of the statue, where the outer robe running from the left shoulder to the right armpit, and the inner robe worn beneath it, are both clearly depicted — a technique mainly found in traditional Buddhist sculpture. The folds of the outer robe flowing down from the left shoulder are carved in raised, rounded ridges that emphasise realism, and the undergarment (seunggakgi), worn up to the chest, has each fold shaped in an 'L' form with volume, so that together they resemble a fully bloomed lotus. The sleeve above the left knee hangs down at length, as if wrapping around the knee. The Seated Wooden Bodhisattva of Gwangsansa Temple, with its imposing build, slightly bent waist, forward-tilted head and gaze lowered gently downward, together with its centrally-parted topknot, its full, near-square face, and the fan-shaped folds of its lower garment, well illustrates the sculptural style of bodhisattva images from the late Joseon period. In particular, this is an outstanding work in which the sculptor-monk rendered the traditional robe realistically, together with the raised, rounded folds of the outer robe and the 'L'-shaped folds of the undergarment.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Changwon, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산