Bongjeongsa Wooden Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Andong

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.1620

Category

Sculpture

Era

1199년경

Designated year

2009

Location

안동시, 경상북도— 경북 안동시 서후면 봉정사길 222, 봉정사 (태장리)

Coordinates

36.653265, 128.662533

The Wooden Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva of Bongjeongsa Temple in Andong is made by assembling several separate wooden pieces. The eyes are inset with crystals. The wooden tablet recording the information about the re-gilding of Daeungjeon Hall and the prayer text, written in 1753, at the time of the temple’s repair, tell us that this statue was created in 1199 and was repaired for the first time between 1363 and 1364, and for the second time between 1751 and 1753.This early Avalokitesvara statue is not yet in the distinctive style of Goryeo. The appearance of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is quite exotic, and the hair is braided and mounted into a top knot, in a shape reminiscent of a house column with a flared middle, with the hair on the shoulder rendered in large overlapping loops. The drapery, meanwhile, is rendered with great fluidity, and the body displays fine proportions. The overall sculptural technique shows a high degree of sophistication. These characteristics make the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva of Bongjeongsa Temple comparable to Chinese Buddhist statues of the Southern Song period or Goryeo Buddhist statues such as the Wooden Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva of Bongwangsa Temple in Andong, dated to the late 12th to the early 13th century, or the Wooden Seated Amitabha Buddha of Gaesimsa Temple in Seosan. Therefore, this statue is indeed likely to have been created in 1199 (the second year of the reign of King Sinjong during the Goryeo Dynasty) as indicated in the wooden tablet describing the repair of Daeungjeon Hall. This statue of Avalokitesvara, exhibiting stylistic characteristics that were later seen in Neoclassical Buddhist sculptures which emerged in late Goryeo, is considered to cast important light on the history and evolution of Goryeo Buddhist sculpture.

Location