Dorisa Temple Relic Pagoda: Reliquary Container
Gilt bronze
Dorisa Temple Relic Pagoda: Reliquary Container - Heavenly King
Dorisa Temple Relic Pagoda: Reliquary Container
SOUTH KOREA, North Gyeongsang, Gumi; Unified Silla dynasty
Found in Relic Pagoda at Dorisa Temple in 1977, it is speculated that this rare hexagonal reliquary container was created during the Unified Silla dynasty (668–935). Contained inside was some silk and various papers, but unlike most reliquaries, there was no reliquary bottle. It was listed as National Treasure No. 208 in 1982.
The reliquary container consists of a base, body, and lid. Each side of the base has a bat-shaped cutout, and each of the six side panels on the body feature a line engraving of either a Bodhisattva or one of the Four Heavenly Kings. The lid mimics the form of a pyramidal roof with a trefoil on the end of each hip; it is not clear if it originally had a spire.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts, page 62.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youji and Pokorski, Stefanie and Mankuang and Fan, Wen,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts },
pages = 62,
title = {{Dorisa Temple Relic Pagoda: Reliquary Container}},
volume = 18,
year = {2016}}