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Samhwaryong: Maitreya Buddha Triad
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Samhwaryong: Maitreya Buddha Triad
SOUTH KOREA, North Gyeongsang, Gyeongju; Silla dynasty (57 BCE–935 CE); Stone; H: 160 cm (Buddha); Gyeongju National Museum, South Korea
The seated Maitreya Buddha is attended on either side by smaller Bodhisattva figures. The Buddha's head is surrounded by a lotus nimbus. The folds of the Buddha's monastic robe fall in rounded patterns over the pendent legs. The Bodhisattvas have a round nimbus and jeweled headpieces. They are draped with stoles, some looping across their bodies, others hanging to the ground. The hands adjacent to the Buddha are holding their attributes. According to Korean legend, infertile women can become pregnant if they scrape the nose of a stone Buddha and eat the powder. That may account for the defacement of the statues. |
