Seated Amchiriseongak Pavilion Stone Buddha

This Buddha is engraved in low relief on an oval stone slab about 3m high, beneath the rock face behind Urimjeong Pavilion; the carved figure itself measures approximately 250cm in height and 110cm in width. The slab is about 20cm thick and slightly thicker at the bottom; its upper part has been shaped into a jewel-form profile to create a body halo, and on the flat front face a single seated stone Buddha with a round head halo is engraved in line. From the face down to the lower body the figure is rendered entirely in incised lines, giving the impression of a drawing. Above the bare head rises a large topknot-shaped ushnisha, and although the face is worn and not entirely clear, an oval face with crescent-shaped eyebrows and a broad nose can be made out in shallow incision. The shoulders are rendered dignified and sturdy, but below the knees, perhaps because the stone was not wide enough, the figure is comparatively narrow next to the upper body, so the balance between upper and lower body is somewhat disrupted. The robe covers both shoulders, and the folds flowing down below the knees are depicted gracefully and realistically. The right hand is raised to shoulder height with the palm facing outward, while the left hand is open, palm upward, resting against the lower abdomen. Beneath the knees, folded in the full lotus position, a lotus-patterned pedestal is incised. This Buddha is a line-engraved image carved onto a thin, flat stone slab as though drawn, and this line-engraving technique, also seen in the Seated Rock-carved Line-engraved Buddha on Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju and the Rock-carved Bhaisajyaguru Triad on Bangeosan Mountain (a treasure), is one that appeared from the Unified Silla period onward; in the Jeollabuk-do region it is one of the features commonly found in Goryeo-period rock-carved Buddhas, including the Rock-carved Buddha at Unseonam Hermitage in Gochang (a Jeollabuk-do tangible cultural heritage) and the Seated Rock-carved Buddha at Nojeokbong in Namwon (a cultural heritage material). Although the somewhat sparse treatment of the lower body compared with the upper suggests a degree of stylisation, the work shows well the characteristics of Goryeo-period Buddhist statues, with a voluminous body rendered gracefully through taut, tension-filled lines.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gochang, Jeonbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료