Sinamri: Buddha Triad

SOUTH KOREA, North Gyeongsang, Yeongju; Unified Silla dynasty

The Buddha triad is found on a stone situated in a roadside paddy field. All four sides were originally carved with images but little beyond the general shapes can still be recognized. The stone is too severely weathered to reveal more than the general details of the composition. It was listed as Treasure No. 680 in 1980.
The circular nimbus of the central Buddha is decorated with flame patterns. The figure wears a monastic robe covering the shoulders and the position of the hands suggests that they probably formed the abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (wish-granting) mudras. The statue is below ground level from the thighs down. The attendant Bodhisattvas with similar nimbuses and aureoles, stand on either side. The hair of the Bodhisattva on the right drops to the shoulders while the one to the left has hands most likely joined in anjali (reverence) mudra. Stylistic features seem to indicate a possible date from the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–668 CE) to early Unified Silla dynasty (668–935).