흥천사의 조선후기 불교조각

Abstract

There are three seated Buddhist statues enshrined in the Geungnakbojeon [Hall for Amitabha Buddha] of the Heungcheonsa temple. Two of them, the seated Buddha and the seated Boddhisattva, are wooden statues, and the seated thousand-armed Avalokitesvara is bronze statue. Two wooden sculptures, the seated Buddha and the seated Boddhisattva, were probably created at the separate places between 16-17th centuries. It is believed that the wooden seated Buddha statue, enshrined as a principal icon in the sanctuary [Geungnakbojeon Hall], has been transferred from an historical temple named Ojeongsa temple at Mungyeong in Gyeongsangbuk-do. In the Gwaneumjeon [Hall of the Avalokitesvara], the seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue is enshrined with two attendants, the Nāga-Raja and the Sudhanakumâra. They were all wooden statues assumed to be created at the same time in 1701 because the combination of these three Buddhist images was widely popular to be made as buddhist paintings in this period. The three sculptures were originally enshrined in the Jeokjoam temple at Imsil-gun in Jeollabuk-do. It is assumed that they have been transferred to the Heungcheonsa temple at the period of late Joseon dynasty. In the Hall of the Kings of the hells, there are twenty-seven sculptures including the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Triad and the Ten Kings. It was assumed that they were created at the late 17th century by the treatment of the figures. Because the Hall of the Kings of the hells was constructed in 1855, it is possible that they have been move from the Jeokhoam temple or a temple in Jeollabuk-do together with the wooden seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue created in 1701. In this study, it was possible to verify the identities and the creation periods of three stone Buddhist statues by the investigation of Bokjang. The close relationship between the Heungcheonsa temple and Royal families throughout the early to late Joseon dynasty has been clear in this study of Buddhist sculptures.