• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.55 no.5 s.95
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• pp.120-130
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• 2005

The main feature of Buddhist sculpture Is said to lay in how it can materialize the divineness. Therefore lots of people used to pay attention to whether its religious features draw people's reverence or not. However, the robe of Buddhist sculptures has not won its proper attention. The Buddhist robe Is usually considered as a mere measure to make Buddha's supernatural feature more vivid. However, contrary to our expectation, the robe is the very real one which can be found in people's lift. The Gandhara Buddhist sculpture robe does not have sleeves, but several sheet of clothes covered the sculpture. Moreover, we can find same features in monk's robe which appeared in the Gandhara art. I can therefore conclude that this robe is not confined to Buddha, but is very popular one in that time in Gandhara. This article would survey the main feature and its relevant things about Gandhara Buddhist sculpture's robe, especially its change process while it had been transmitted to China.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.96
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• pp.209-223
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• 2019

The Iron Seated Buddha sculpture in the National Museum of Korea had long sat unregistered in storage at the museum. However, a new accession number "bon9976" has recently been assigned to it. This sculpture was excavated from the neighborhood of Heungnyongsa Temple in Baekun-ri, Yidong-myeon, Pocheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do Province together with another Iron Seated Buddha sculpture(bon9975) called "Iron Buddha from Pocheon." A comparison and examination of Gelatin Dry Plate and official documents from the Joseon Government-General Museum during the Japanese occupation period have revealed that these two Iron Buddha sculptures were transferred to the Museum of the Government-General of Korea on December 17, 1925. The Iron Seated Buddha sculpture(bon9976) has a height of 105 centimeters, width at the shoulders of 57 centimeters, and width at the knee of 77 centimeters. The Buddha is wearing a robe with rippling drapery folds and the right shoulder exposed. He is seated in the position called gilsangjwa(the seat of good fortune) in which the left foot is placed over the right thigh. The features of the Buddha's oval face are prominently sculpted. The voluminous cheeks, eye sockets in a large oval shape, slanted eyes, short nose, and plump lips can also be found in other ninth-century Iron Seated Buddha sculptures at Silsangsa Temple in Namwon, Jeollanam-do Province, Hancheonsa Temple in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, and Samhwasa Temple in Donghae-si, Gangwon-do Province. Moreover, its crossed legs, robe exposing the right shoulder, and rippling drapery folds suggest that this sculpture might have been modeled after the main Buddha sculpture of the Seokguram Grotto from the eighth century. The identity of this Iron Seated Buddha can be determined using the Gelatin Dry Plate(M442-2, M442-7). In them, the Buddha has its right palm facing upwards and holds a medicine jar on its left palm. Until now, the Iron Seated Bhaiṣajyagura(Medicine) Buddha(bon1970) excavated from Wonju has been considered the sole example of an iron Medicine Buddha sculpture. However, this newly registered Iron Seated Buddha turns out to be a Medicine Buddha holding a medicine jar. Furthermore, it serves as valuable material since traces of gilding and lacquering clearly remain on its surface. This Iron Seated Buddha sculpture (bon9976) is presumed to have been produced around the ninth century under the influence of Esoteric Buddhism by the Monk Doseon(827~898), a disciple of the Monk Hyecheol, to protect the temple and help the country overcome geographical shortcomings. According to the records stored at Naewonsa Temple(later Heungnyongsa Temple), Doseon selected three significant sites, including Baegunsan Mountain, built "protector" temples, created the Bhaisajyagura Buddha triad, and enshrined them at the temples. Moreover, the inscription on the stele on the restoration of Seonamsa Temple states that Doseon constructed temples and produced iron Buddha sculptures to help the country surmount certain geographical shortcomings. Heungnyongsa Temple is located in Dopyeong-ri, Yidong-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do Province. This region appears to have been related to rituals directed to the Medicine Buddha since Yaksa Temple(literally, "the temple of medicine") was built here during the Goryeo Dynasty, and the Yaksa Temple site with its three-story stone pagoda and Yaksadong Valley still exist in Dopyeong-ri.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.99
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• pp.10-29
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• 2021

This paper is an introductory study of the wooden Buddha images excavated in the Mekong Delta in present-day southern Vietnam. Approximately thirty examples of wooden Buddha images have been recovered in the Mekong Delta. As they were found among the major historic sites of Funan (the first kingdom in Southeast Asia), including Oc Eo, and likely date to the sixth century, they can be regarded as the works of Funan. Similarly to stone Buddha images, these wooden examples are considered important for their demonstration of aspects of early Buddhist sculpture in Southeast Asia. Most of these Funan wooden Buddha images are presumed to have been produced around the sixth century based on radiocarbon dating and their stylistic characteristics. This paper analyzed the iconography and style of eight examples whose forms are relatively recognizable. The eight images can be divided into four types according to their postures, dress styles, and hand gestures. They all share features of the Sarnath style of the Gupta period in India as seen in their slender bodies and the outer robe that clings to the body. However, some display a South Indian style of Buddha images in their upright posture, style of wearing a monastic robe with the right shoulder exposed, and making the vitarka mudra (preaching gesture) that is often seen in Sri Lankan Buddha images. This suggests that Buddhist sculptors in Funan devised a new style by incorporating the principal styles of Indian Buddhist sculpture. Another notable feature of these Funan images is their material, namely, wood. While none of the contemporaneous Hindu sculptures discovered from the same historic sites are made of wood, numerous Buddhist sculptures are. This paper postulates that the use of wood in Buddhist sculptures was promoted for reasons beyond ease of carving. According to the Buddhist literature, the first-ever Buddha image was the so-called 'Udayana image' made out of sandalwood. This image and its story was well-known in the Southern Dynasty of China around the sixth century. Interestingly, some auspicious sandalwood images of the Buddha was believed to have been brought into the Southern Dynasty from Funan. This suggests the possibility that the legend of the Udayana image might have been known in Funan as well and resulted in the production of wooden sculptures there.