Dongcheondong: Reliquary with the Four Heavenly Kings
Bronze
Dongcheondong: Reliquary with the Four Heavenly Kings
SOUTH KOREA, North Gyeongsang, Gyeongju; Unified Silla dynasty
Reliquaries with depictions of the Four Heavenly Kings began to appear in 682 during the Unified Silla dynasty, continuing until the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). These images usually appear in relief on the four sides of a reliquary as a symbol of protection.
This reliquary was not discovered inside a pagoda, but in a square stone casket buried in the side of a mountain. Each of the Four Heavenly Kings has a nimbus and a mandorla. The square lid has a raised lotus bud at the center and is decorated with floral and vine patterns.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts, page 60.
Cite this article:
Hsingyun, et al. "Dongcheondong: Reliquary with the Four Heavenly Kings." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts , vol. 18, 2016, pp. 60.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Youji, Stefanie Pokorski, Mankuang, and Wen Fan. 2016. "Dongcheondong: Reliquary with the Four Heavenly Kings" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts , 18:60.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Youji, Pokorski, S., Mankuang, & Fan, W.. (2016). Dongcheondong: Reliquary with the Four Heavenly Kings. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts (Vol. 18, pp. 60).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youji and Pokorski, Stefanie and Mankuang and Fan, Wen,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts },
pages = 60,
title = {{Dongcheondong: Reliquary with the Four Heavenly Kings}},
volume = 18,
year = {2016}}
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youji and Pokorski, Stefanie and Mankuang and Fan, Wen,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts },
pages = 60,
title = {{Dongcheondong: Reliquary with the Four Heavenly Kings}},
volume = 18,
year = {2016}}