Seated Nojeokbong Peak Rock-carved Buddha

This is a rock-carved Buddha image 4.5 m high, carved on a huge rock at Nojeokbong Peak on Pungaksan Mountain in Samae-myeon, Namwon, North Jeolla Province. Though carved on a natural rock face, it retains its original form well, and fragments of roof tile remain on the open ground in front of the image, suggesting that a Buddha hall or monks' quarters once stood there. The Buddha is seated on a pedestal carved with a lotus pattern, and a double band of thick lines encircles the head and body as a head halo and body halo. The face is rather round, with an unusual rendering of the creases at the corners of the mouth. The ears hang down as far as the shoulders, and the shoulders are rendered relatively broad. The robe draped over both shoulders shows somewhat formalised folds rendered in curving lines. Both hands are brought together in front of the chest, each holding up a flower, and fully opened flowers are also carved beside both elbows. Buddha images holding flowers in this way are a feature seen in Maitreya images such as the Standing Stone Buddha at Mireuk-ri, Goesan, and the rock-carved Seated Maitreya Buddha at Gwanaksan Mountain, suggesting that this image, too, represents Maitreya. The image as a whole gives a strongly flat impression, and it is a work useful for the study of Buddhist sculptural style in the North Jeolla region.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Namwon, Jeonbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료