Bodhisattva Triad

KOREA; Goguryeo dynasty

A triad in which a Bodhisattva, rather than Sakyamuni Buddha, is flanked by monastic attendants is rare. This example was listed as National Treasure No. 134 in 1970.
The bronze triad was cast as a whole, and mounted on a rounded pedestal with lightly incised lotus patterns. The figure performs the abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (wish-granting) mudras, while the hands of the attendants are in the anjali (reverence) mudra. They wear monastic robes, while the Bodhisattva’s voluminous robe falls to either side and flares out, with stoles crossing over it in a double loop. The Bodhisattva is surrounded by an intersecting aureole and lotus nimbus enclosed by a flame-patterned mandorla, at the foot of which the attendants are attached.