Seated Wooden Avalokitesvara of Yeoyeojeongsa Temple, Miryang

According to the temple, this statue is said to have been the personal devotional image (wonbul) of the monk Jeongyeo, abbot of the present-day Beomeosa Temple, and to have been donated when Yeoyeojeongsa Temple was founded. It is enshrined as the image of the lecture hall, kept inside a sealed glass case. The crown itself is a modern replacement, though its ornaments are original; apart from the general loss of gilding, its condition is fairly good. The temple is said to have recently opened the statue's bokjang, the sacred cavity inside the image, in which a brass huryeongtong container wrapped in a yellow cloth (hwangchopokja), a bokjang dedicatory text, dharani written in vermilion ink, and printed sutra pages were found; after the dedicatory text was copied and photographed, it is said to have been resealed inside the statue together with the other bokjang objects. Although small, the statue is well preserved and is an important image whose bokjang contents survive. The dedicatory text states that the statue's original home was Jeokjoam Hermitage. The figures who appear there as Heungbo and Sahol, and as byeoljwa or dogam (temple administrative officers), are all recorded in the Beomeosaji, the gazetteer of Beomeosa Temple, and the monk-sculptor who carved the statue is also among those who repaired and made the images of the Birojeon and Gwaneumjeon Halls at Beomeosa Temple. It can therefore be inferred that Jeokjoam was a hermitage affiliated with Beomeosa Temple, very likely located near it; above all, 1722 was the year in which the Birojeon and Gwaneumjeon images were repaired and newly made, which further supports this view. Taken together, the wooden Avalokitesvara of Yeoyeojeongsa Temple, though small, faithfully preserves the characteristics of the sculptor Jinyeol's work and provides valuable material for gauging the standing and operation of the temple at the time. The statue sits with its waist upright and its head bowed slightly forward. Though small, it follows the general features of late-Joseon statues with disproportionately large heads, and the proportions between shoulders and legs are well balanced. Its mudra is the Amitabha mudra, both hands joining thumb and middle finger, the right hand turned palm down and the left palm up. The face is squarish, with narrow, small eyes, faint eyebrow lines, and a nose that is large and blunt where it continues from them. There is a faint smile at the corners of the mouth, and the overall carving technique gives an impression of fullness, so that the statue's whole mood is gentle and its expression compassionate. The robe is worn in a modified style covering both shoulders: a pyeonsam undergarment is worn on the left shoulder, and over it the outer robe covers the left shoulder and drapes lightly over the right shoulder before falling away. The innermost fold of the outer robe on the right shoulder is emphasised so that it falls like a collar, and the way the pyeonsam and outer-robe folds form a symmetrical, schematic pattern in front of the abdomen is both a personal and a period feature of the monk-sculptor Jinyeol, who carved this statue. Likewise, the three rounded folds of drapery winding down around the ankles and the broad sleeve falling over the left knee closely resemble the statue Jinyeol made in 1701 for Sangunsa Temple in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, clearly showing his sculptural characteristics.

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Where it is

Region

Miryang, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산