Unsusa Temple Amitabha Triad Painting

This work is in hanging-scroll format, and because of discolouration and flaking of the pigments its overall state of preservation is poor. On the back, in the centre, a dharani in three vertical lines is written in red ink, and at each of the four corners a single Sanskrit character is written in red. It is a Buddhist triad depicting a seated Buddha at the centre of the composition with standing bodhisattvas on either side. The principal Buddha has both a halo and a body nimbus, and sits upon a blue lotus pedestal rising from below; the right hand forms the earth-touching mudra that subdues demons, while the left hand, raised to chest height with thumb and middle finger joined, forms the meditation mudra of Amitabha. The attendant bodhisattvas both have green haloes and white body nimbuses: on the left is a bodhisattva with a crowned image of a transformation Buddha in its headdress, holding a yeoui, a ceremonial wish-granting sceptre, and on the opposite side another bodhisattva is likewise depicted holding a yeoui. This work shows a mixture of iconographic features ranging from the 19th century into the modern era: the principal Buddha's hand gestures combining the earth-touching mudra and the Dharma-preaching mudra, the ambiguous iconographic characteristics of the flanking bodhisattvas, the rendering of the white body nimbus, and the depiction of the rising lotus pedestal. Furthermore, the production date (1907, the 11th year of the Gwangmu era) and the identity of the painter, the monk-painter Gyeongnyun, are known from the inscription recording the painting's production, giving it research value for the study of Buddhist paintings of the period as a city-designated cultural heritage item.

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Where it is

Region

Sasang-gu, Busan

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료