Gwanchoksa Temple: Maitreya Bodhisattva
Stone
Gwanchoksa Temple: Maitreya Bodhisattva (side)
Gwanchoksa Temple: Maitreya Bodhisattva
SOUTH KOREA, South Chungcheong, Nonsan; Goryeo dynasty
A stele that recorded the history of Gwanchoksa Temple describes how the monk Haemyeong supervised more than 100 craftsmen to produce this statue, which was completed in 1006. The sculpture was listed as Treasure No. 218 in 1963.
The figure is basically columnar in shape, with the head taking up one third of the body. The head then tapers via a tall headpiece overshadowed by two rectangular canopies. The roughness of this spire-like feature and the perfunctory treatment of the monastic robes contrast with the careful depiction of the face. The hands are positioned close to the chest in mudras. The groove at the statue’s waist indicates that it was carved in two pieces and then assembled.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M, page 402.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M},
pages = 402,
title = {{Gwanchoksa Temple: Maitreya Bodhisattva}},
volume = 11,
year = {2016}}