조선 후기 불석제佛石製 불상과 조각승 승호勝湖‧경옥敬玉

Abstract

It was the most important event in the history of Buddhist statues of the late Joseon Dynasty at Gyeongsang area that Buddhist statues were made of the soft stone called zeolite. This unusual stone, known as ‘Bulseok, Stone for Buddhist Statue’, was quarried in Bulseok-san Mountain (or Bullyeong-san Mountain) on the east beach of Gyeongju and was created to Buddhist statues by monk- sculptors such as Seungho in the nearby area centered on Girim-sa Temple. Buddhist statues made of Bulseok were distributed to some temples near the shoreline in Jeolla area that was easy to navigate by ships. And it was transported by land route to the temple in Gyeongsang area near Gyeongju. Sculptors Seungho(승호) and Gyeongok(경옥) were directly connected to Hyeonjin and Cheongheon school such as sculptors Seungil(승일), Huijang(희장), and Dou(도우) that made many Buddhist statues in the Gyeongsang area since the first half of the 17th century. They inherited the styles of Hyeonjin and Cheongheon school but formed their own unique styles too. The body, which has a shoulder broader than the upper body, gives a feeling of sturdiness, and the face with a wide jaw and a strong lower mouth is a new formative characteristic developed by Seungho and Gyeongok. They also had a different way of expression on the width between knees, upper eyelashes, earlobes, lower body garments etc. Subsequent generations linking monk-sculptors Seungho and Gyeongok are mainly active in the early 18th century. It was confirmed that many monk-sculptors were active in the Seungho school, such as Sangnyun(상륜), Sujong(수종), Suyeon(수연), Beopjong(법종), Sungsik(숭식), and Yeocheol(여철). However, it is estimated that only very few monk-sculptors are active in the Gyeongok school. Monk-sculptor Jeongdo(정도) is only believed to be Gyeongok’s successor.