Gold-bronze Bodhisattva in a pensive posture (National Treasure of South Korea No. 78)
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The South Korean national treasure no. 78 is a gilded bronze sculpture of a Bodhisattva in thoughtful pose. It does not have an individual name and is therefore referred to as bangasang ( 반가상 , sculpture with half-crossed legs) or bangasayusang ( 반가사 유상 , sculpture with half-crossed legs in a thoughtful pose). However, this general designation refers to various representations of Buddhist cult images in a thoughtful pose. In secondary literature one often comes across the interpretive term geumdong mireuk bosal banga (sayu) sang ( 금동 미륵 보살 반가 (사유) 상 , gold bronze sculpture of the Bodhisattva Maitreya with half-crossed legs in a thoughtful pose). The interpretation of many sculptures in a thoughtful posture is unclear due to the lack of clear attributes and indicative inscriptions and is also controversially discussed in this piece. The geumdong ( 금동 ) in front of the name refers to the working materials used: gold and bronze.
Material and technology
The sculpture is made of bronze and the surface is gilded. Since bronze was considered very valuable and was also expensive, the material was preferably used for casting cult images because of its high esteem, but it was cast hollow and not solid to save material. The technique of the lost form was used , in which the sculpture could be cast with a very thin wall. The good mastery of the technique shows in the low wall thickness of the sculpture and the presence of only a few noticeable casting defects. The surface of the figure was refined with the technique of fire gilding .
State of preservation
Overall, the sculpture is very well preserved and made of very high quality. Larger blister formations during the casting appeared only on the upper right wrist of the figure and on the upper right knee tip. Most of the surface fire gilding has been removed and only traces of it remain, especially in the more protected areas, such as the folds of the garment, but also on the back of the sculpture. The entire surface is covered with a fine patina , which with its greenish hue creates a color contrast to the non-patinated parts of the surface. The patina is largely even and only shows significant efflorescence in a few places , such as the left half of the face. The sculpture also shows minor material losses due to breaks, especially in the middle part of the filigree crown. In addition, two sculpted tails of clothing in the rear part of the sculpture have been lost. However, in contrast to the crown parts, these were restored during a restoration .
Object description
The sculpture is approximately 83.2 cm high. It shows a young man with a tall, slim body and gentle facial features with half-closed eyes, who wears an elaborately crafted crown , fine body jewelry and a complex, artful robe. He sits on a pedestal, which is almost completely covered by his long robe. In the lower area, however, three-part struts can be seen that end on a base ring that supports the sculpture. The figure sets up the left foot. This is carried by a separate, massive lotus base with full petals .
dress
The clothing consists of two parts: a long but simple trousers and a long, scarf-like wrap that rests on the shoulders. The latter falls backwards and leaves the upper back free before it converges in the middle of the back. The ends of the throw hanging down at the front merge lengthways into the trousers. The trousers, in turn, are long and cover the limbs of the figure up to the ankles. A large part of the platform is also covered. The clothing is complemented by belts or sashes that hold them. A narrow belt strap is tied around the hips to wear the leg band, which is tied like a loop in front of the stomach. On the side of it, the ribbons are lavishly ornamented. Another ribbon, which is tied in loops, can also be found running over the crown and sloping to the side. After the billowing bow tie, they run down over the figure's ears. Other decorative ribbons are used to tie the figure's braids. They are led from the back of the head towards the shoulders. In addition, the figure wears jewelry in the form of bracelets, jewelry rings on the upper arms, and a chain. On her head she wears the artistically crafted crown with sun-moon decoration and floral elements. The bracelets and the upper arm bracelet are designed in the same way. They appear as a flat, narrow band with a simply lined up row of gemstones of the same size and spacing, each of which is encompassed and framed by a narrow strip of the hoop or bracelet material. The gemstones themselves are made as relatively flat, slightly convex rectangles with rounded corners. These pieces of jewelry appear so discreet and balanced and do not compete with the physical appearance of the figure or the very elaborate crown for the attention of the beholder. The necklace is designed in the same manner and extends to the middle of the chest. It tapers down in the middle. The figure's most striking accessory is its crown. Despite some damage from demolitions, its original shape can be easily understood by looking at it. It is designed as a diadem . The central part, one of the sun-moon decors mentioned, is damaged by being demolished. However, the element is repeated once to the left and right of it. Each above the ears is a ring through which the above-mentioned band of fabric was pulled and gathered voluminously before it falls to the shoulders, covering the ears.
style
The Korean National Treasure No. 78 is sumptuously dressed and richly adorned. He also wears an opulent crown set with jewels. If one compares this example with earlier depictions of thoughtful bodhisattva from China, the style can be traced back to that of the Northern Qi Dynasty. The clothing of the Northern Qi sculpture style expresses the appreciation of the rulers of the Qi Dynasty for the Western, the exotic and the foreign. The Qi dynasty is thus in clear contrast to the previous Wei dynasty, in which there was a great tendency towards Sinization. The jewelry - chain, bracelets and upper arm bangles - as well as the ribbons and scarves, which were not only attached to the crown, but also adorned the body, were based on the exotic garments of South Asia, which are also known in China through maritime trade contacts via Southeast Asia were. The fashion of the Chinese court clothing of the Chen and Liang dynasties also served as models. The decorative ribbons attached to the side of the leg garments of many thoughtful sculptures can be traced back to the clothing of princes and other courtiers of the aforementioned dynasties. In Suishu 隨 書 , the history of the Sui dynasty, these items of clothing, their accessories and their colors are listed. They agree to a large extent with the design and painting of figures from the Longxingsi that served as a model for this piece. Last but not least, the crown of the national treasure No. 78 shows Persian influences , such as the three-part appliqués, one of which is arranged in the middle and two more in pairs around it. These crowns have appeared regularly in Persia since the third century and were initially assigned to representations of rulers and princes. Soon afterwards they were adopted into Buddhist art and made it to East Asia as headdresses together with religion. The decorative element of the sun-moon combination does not have its origin in East Asia, but in Central Asia. The artistic representation of the two stars as a decorative element was soon assigned to Maitreya and was thus almost a decoration with an attribute-like character. It also appears in triplicate in the crown of the sculpture discussed here. The style of Northern Qi, represented by the Korean National Treasure No. 78, is characterized by a strong abstraction of the depiction of the garments. The folds are flat, parallel and stylized. The abstraction and flatness are particularly evident where the robe falls in front of the seating furniture or in front of the knee of the leg that is raised. The folds are not sculpted, but drawn through indentations in the material. The close concern of the fabric with the body and seating furniture of the sculptures reflects, in addition to the use of a finer fabric, an exaggeration of the style of the wet garment . This experienced a new heyday from the middle of the sixth century.
Historical contextualization and comparison objects
After a phase of relatively simple representations of thoughtful bodhisattva made in Korea in the first half of the seventh century, lavishly dressed and richly adorned bodhisattva gradually came into fashion. As mentioned before, these followed a different stylistic model. The 1996 hoard from Longxingsi 隆興寺 in the Chinese province of Shandong 山東 brought to light numerous examples of Buddhist sculpture, including two thoughtful bodhisattva. These show characteristics comparable to those of the piece discussed here. Due to the relative proximity of the Kingdom of Paekche to the Shandong Peninsula, the exchange of goods and cultures between these two regions was lively. While small votive steles with reflective Maitreya predominated in the northern part of China, especially in Hebei Province , there were larger, single-standing sculptures of this type in Shandong. These were probably the models for the large and sculptural cult images of the Korean peninsula and Japan. In general, the Bodhisattva were represented more and more richly and magnificently dressed and adorned. This tendency, which emerged from the northern Qi dynasties and their sculpture style, continued from then on in the subsequent Chinese dynasties, as well as Japan and Korea.
literature
- Kang Woobang (Ed.): Eternal Images of Shakyamuni: Two Gilt-bronze Korean National Treasures , Korea Foundation , Seoul (2008)
- Nickel, Lukas (ed .; exhibition catalog): The return of the Buddha. Chinese sculptures of the 6th century. The temple find of Qingzhou , Museum Rietberg (among others), Zurich (among others) (2001)
- van Alphen, Jan (Ed .; exhibition catalog): The Buddha in the Dragon Gate: Buddhist sculpture of the 5th - 9th from Longmen , China, Etnografisch Museum Antwerpen, Antwerpen (2001)
- Washizuka Hiromitsu et al. (Ed .; exhibition catalog): Transmitting Forms of Divinity: Early Buddhist Art from Korea and Japan , Abrams, New York (2003)