Seated Wooden Amitabha Buddha of Baegunam Hermitage, Hamyang

According to a votive text found inside the statue, it was made in 1674, the fifteenth year of King Hyeonjong, for enshrinement at Yeongeunsa Temple on Mt Baegunsan, with the participation of nearly 200 donors and dedicants, and was originally created as an Amitabha triad, with the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta flanking the principal Amitabha Buddha. The two flanking bodhisattva statues have since been lost, and only the principal Amitabha Buddha remains, now worshipped as the main image in the Daeungjeon Hall of Baegunam Hermitage. The statue was made by seven sculptor-monks: the chief artisan Seongjo, together with Hanun, Jagyu, Hakcheong, Seongsu, Seolmae and Sawon. The hemispherical head is covered with thick, densely arranged spiral curls, so that there is no clear division between the head and the ushnisha, the cranial protuberance symbolising enlightenment; both a crescent-shaped central jewel and a cylindrical crown jewel are shown, at the centre and the crown of the head respectively, the central jewel being rather small in proportion to the large size of the head. The square face, without a double chin, has extremely restrained volume and so appears somewhat flat, but this was intended to bring out to the fullest the spirituality expressing the Buddha's compassion and dignity. This face, in which inner compassion and outward solemnity are well harmonised, is similar to those of the Seated Wooden Amitabha Buddha of Bongeunsa Temple, Seoul (1651), and the Seated Wooden Amitabha Buddha of Hoguksa Temple, Damyang (1660, now held in the Seongbo Museum of Baegyangsa Temple, Jangseong). The hands form the hapumjungsaengin mudra, resting on the knees with the thumb and middle finger of each brought together in a circle; the hands were carved separately and fitted onto the statue. The robe is worn in the tongyeonui style, covering both shoulders with two thick outer robes layered together; over the right shoulder hangs a large, half-moon-shaped fold of drapery with its end slightly turned back, its pleats rendered with alternating emphasis, and the collar turned back symmetrically on both sides. On the left shoulder, two vertical folds flow down to the elbow, and at the bent elbow deep, angular folds are rendered in the 'nail-head and rat-tail' brushwork style, thick at the start and tapering to a fine point; on the left side the folds rise and fall in an M-shape, and the end of the drapery draped over the left shoulder is finished in a large leaf shape. Across the widely opened chest, the hem of the inner garment is rendered in a petal-like decorative shape; the sash and fold that would tie the garment are omitted, leaving only a trace pressed in at two points on either side, a style of expression commonly seen in seventeenth-century Buddhist statues. The high, broad knees are rendered at right angles, giving an impression of firm strength, and the statue sits in the gilsangjwa posture, with the right leg comfortably resting over the left. The drapery flowing down over the knees lightly covers the exposed toes of the right foot, and at the front of the knees, around a broad band-shaped fold in the shape of the character 八, three to four arc-shaped folds spread out expansively on either side, their ends finished in a wave pattern; although there are differences of detail, this treatment of the knee folds is frequently found in statues made by the Seungil school of sculptor-monks, active around the mid-seventeenth century. This statue does not render in fine detail the curves and contours of a supple, ideal Buddha body, and this reflects the plain, restrained aesthetic sensibility pursued in the late Joseon period. This period aesthetic and stylistic character is also well expressed in the thick, firm, wire-like folds that give weight to empty space, a feature shared with other statues made in the same period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hamyang, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산