Wooden Chilseong Buddha Sermon Statue of Banggoksa Temple, Danyang

The wooden relief tableau of the Seven Star Buddhas (chilseong yeorae, deities embodying the stars of the Big Dipper) held at Banggoksa Temple was made by setting ten vertical wooden boards side by side and fixing them within a frame formed from a further board at the top, bottom and each side, so creating the picture surface. This work renders a painting of the Seven Stars in wood. Unlike the few surviving wooden tableaux from the late Joseon period, which typically combine relief and openwork (pierced) carving, it is carved throughout in plain relief. The composition centres on Chiseonggwang Yeorae, flanked by the Bodhisattvas of the Sun and Moon. To either side of this central triad stand the Seven Lords of the Big Dipper (Chilwon Seonggun) and Taesang Nogun, a Daoist deity, with the Seven Buddhas above them; the figures are arranged horizontally in three tiers. The attendant figures turn their faces roughly a quarter toward the central image. Each figure is modelled with a full, rounded volume: the contours of the chest, abdomen, arms and legs, and the high pedestals beneath the knees, retain a strong sense of three-dimensionality. The carving also varies in depth and volume from side to side according to the direction each figure faces — a feat requiring considerable knowledge of form and sculptural skill, achieved here with relative naturalness and harmony. Although its carving technique is somewhat heavy-handed, this wooden tableau fully demonstrates the refined skill required to give three-dimensional form to a flat wooden surface, and faithfully reproduces the iconography of the Seven Star Buddhas. The work is not of great antiquity: the straight, wave-patterned halo rising behind the central image, the horizontal drapery folds across its knees, and the shape of the wollyugwan, a ceremonial crown, worn by the Seven Lords of the Big Dipper are all features found in paintings of the Seven Star Buddhas produced in the early-to-mid twentieth century. Whatever its date, however, surviving wooden tableaux carved so close to plain relief are rare, which gives this work great value as a record.

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Where it is

Region

Danyang, Chungbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료