Seated Hamyang Beobinsa Temple Wooden Amitabha Buddha Votive Objects (set)

This Buddha statue has a head that is small in proportion to the body, with shoulders that are narrow and slope downward, giving it a somewhat slight appearance. The mudra is that of the lowest grade of the middle rank of rebirth in the Pure Land: the left hand has the palm facing up, and the right hand has the back of the hand facing up, with the middle finger and thumb touching. The separately carved hands are slender and elongated; the thumbs are shorter and thicker than the other fingers, revealing a certain lack of skill in the carving. The head, covered in tight curls (nabal), shows an indistinct boundary with the usnisha, the cranial protuberance; at that boundary a crescent-shaped mid-usnisha jewel is depicted, with a cylindrical usnisha jewel at the crown, following the general format of late Joseon Buddha statues. The face is square with a relatively narrow forehead; long horizontal eyebrows lead into a prominent triangular nose, with a short philtrum, and the slender, long lips turn up slightly at the ends in a smile, giving an overall benevolent expression. The robe is worn in the modified 'both shoulders covered' style, with an undergarment (pyeonsam) on the right shoulder beneath the outer robe (daeui); the outer robe, draped lightly over the right shoulder, has a hem that forms a gentle curve, and is drawn out towards the armpit, around the abdomen, and thrown over the left shoulder to hang down in a long fold. On the reverse, however, the right arm is rendered far too thin compared with the left, giving an awkward overall sense of balance. The undergarment (gunui) covering the legs, crossed in full lotus position, flows down below the ankles, arranged on each side into three or four folds. This statue is particularly distinctive for the folds of the undergarment and the sleeve-end on the left leg: the folds form a horizontal 'く' shape from the knee, the contrast between the folds at the hem of the undergarment is very pronounced, and the narrow sleeve-end behind the left knee clings closely to the knee as it falls — features that set it apart from other Buddhist sculpture. In this wooden seated Amitabha Buddha of Beobinsa Temple, the chest and belly are somewhat weak in proportion to the statue's front-to-back length, giving a slightly awkward impression, yet the legs appear long, and the 'く'-shaped folds of the undergarment and the strongly contrasted hem folds reveal both the characteristics of the late Joseon period and the individual style of the sculptor-monk. Furthermore, the votive text (balwonmun) records not only the date the statue was made and the names of the sculptor-monks Yeonggyu and Joneung, the enshrinement site and the donors, but, without exception, everyone connected with the project, even the children who were living there at the time — all densely recorded on a single sheet of paper. This is a rare example, and is considered valuable material for understanding Buddhist sculpture of the mid-seventeenth century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hamyang, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산