금강산출토 티벳계 명양식 계통의 금동 아미타삼존불상(金銅三尊佛像:附石函)의 연구

Abstract

This Gilt‐bronze Seated Amitabha Buddha Triad Statue in a stone case excavated in Mt. Geumgang is the only buried Buddhist statue found in Korea, and therefore, its value should be appreciated in several different aspects. First, as this Gilt‐bronze Seated Amitabha Buddha Triad Statue is believed to have been created and buried in Mt. Geumgang out of belief in Mt. Geumgang as the Buddha Land and particularly belief in buried Buddha, it should be treated importantly as the only case of buried Buddhist statue in Korea. Second, in the Gilt‐bronze Seated Amitabha Buddha Triad Statue, Amitabha Buddha stands in the middle and Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha on the left and right, respectively. As the image of Ksitigarbha with a jeweled crown is the only extant case of Ksitigarbha with a crown, it is expected to make major contributions to iconographic studies on Ksitigarbha. Accordingly, because some of images known vaguely as Mahasthamoprapta are highly likely to be Ksitigarbha, it is believed to open a new horizon to iconographic research on Amitabha Buddha Triad statues. Third, among the icons of the Amitabha Buddha Triad Statue, Sudhana is deployed to the left of Avalokitesvara on the left, and a ritual sprinkler is drawn to the left of Ksitigarbha on the left. This is an unprecedented new iconographic pattern and is expected to make a great contribution to iconographic studies on Amitabha Buddha Triad statues. Fourth, the emergence of such a new form suggests a material change in the iconographic style of Water‐Moon Avalokitsvara. Fifth, the lower base of the Triad Buddha statue, on which all of the six legs turn outside, suggests the emergence of a new unique pedestal form. Sixth, the silver plate blocking the belly hole on the bottom of the main Buddha has Chinese characters such as ‘文.’ Although some letters including ‘文’ are clear, some others are worn out and unreadable. These characters may be greatly meaningful if they indicate the date of the statue or the temple name. Seventh, in terms of style, the Gilt‐bronze Amitabha Buddha Triad Statue is remarkable as the most representative case of Buddhist statue showing the radical change in around 1450 by the influence of the new Tibetan style in Ming. Accordingly, this Gilt‐bronze Amitabha Buddha Triad Statue is appreciated highly as the most important Buddhist statue for research on the Korean history of sculpture, particularly in the early Joseon Dynasty. As this is the only case related to belief in buried Buddha in the late Koryo and early Joseon Dynasty, moreover, it should be spotlighted in research on the history of Buddhism in the Joseon Dynasty.