Seated Seoksan-ri Rock-carved Buddha

It is located about 1 km up the road from Seondol village in Jeokseong, Sunchang, towards Dowang village. The Buddha is carved on a rock about 2.5 m across; apart from a small loss at the right side of the pedestal, it is generally well preserved. On the flat rock face, the head halo, the body halo, the Buddha's body and the pedestal are all carved in shallow relief. Overall the face is large in proportion to the body, and the Buddha sits in the full lotus position with the hands in the earth-touching gesture (hangma chokjiin), the gesture of subduing demons. The head is carved bluntly, as if wearing a thick cap, with a large topknot-shaped usnisa, the cranial protuberance symbolising wisdom, on the bald head. The face is close to square; the eyes are worn and indistinct but appear to be narrowly open, and the large nose and thick lips are rendered in shallow relief. The lips in particular droop at the corners, and traces of red pigment survive clearly along the lip and hairline. Because the neck is short, the three creases known as samdo, symbolising the three stages of existence, are shown crossing the upper body, and the body is rendered unusually small in proportion to the face, with narrow, drawn-in shoulders. The right shoulder is bare, while a length of the outer robe is draped over the left shoulder, showing the style of dress that covers only the left shoulder (ugyeonpyeondan). The folds of the robe flow down from near the abdomen over the two legs in the full lotus position, forming fine, closely spaced parallel pleats. The right hand is lowered below the legs in the earth-touching gesture, while the left hand, palm upward, rests lightly on the knees. The pedestal is decorated in a lotus shape but is damaged on the right side, and the halo takes the form of a winnowing-basket-shaped full-body mandorla containing both a head halo and a body halo, with scroll-vine patterns incised in the space around its edge. In its shallow relief technique, its localised, folk-style facial expression and its fine parallel-pleat drapery, this rock-carved Buddha shows the characteristics of Goryeo-period Buddhist images, and it is well preserved overall without significant damage. In particular, traces of colouring still remain on the Buddha's body, which makes it important evidence of how Buddhist images were coloured at the time.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sunchang, Jeonbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료