Korean Buddhist Sculpture - Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392)

Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392)

The Goryeo Dynasty succeeded Unified Silla as ruler of the Korean peninsula. Like their predecessors, the Goryeo court lavishly sponsored Buddhism and Buddhist arts. The early phase of Goryeo art is characterized by the waning but influential effect of Unified Silla prototypes, the discarding of High Tang style, and the incorporation of regionally distinctive styles which reflected the influence of local aristocrats who had grown powerful during the declining days of Unified Silla and also reflects the fact that the capital was moved from southeastern Korea to Kaegyong (now modern-day Kaesong).

The bronze life-size image of King Taejo, the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty is technically not a Buddhist sculpture. However, the similarities of the statue to earlier bronze images of the Buddha, such as the elongated ears, a physical attribute of the Buddha, is suggestive of the relationship the royalty had with the religion.

One example of the lingering influence of Unified Silla art is the Seated Sakyamuni Buddha at the National Museum of Korea which can be dated to the 10th century. This statue is stylistically indebted to the central figure at Seokguram and some scholars suggest that the statue is from the Great Silla period. Both Buddhas employ the same "earth-touching" mudra which was first popularized in Korea by the Seokguram image. The fan-shaped folding of cloth between the legs of the Buddha, the way the clothing on the image was depicted, and the "cross-legged seated posture" are all typical of Unified Silla sculpture. The Buddha is the largest iron Buddha surviving in Korea. It was cast in multiple pieces and today one can see the different seams where the statue was pieced together. In the past the statue would have been covered in lacquer or gilt to hide the joints. Interestingly, the bottom of the nose, the ends of the ears, and the hands are reproductions and not part of the original statue.

The Eunjin Mireuk is example of early Goryeo sculpture demonstrating the rise of regional styles and the abandoning of a strict interpretation of the standard iconography of Buddhist images. The statue is believed to be a representation of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva of Mercy, although it is popularly known as Maitreya. The statue is over 18 meters tall and took over 30 years to complete. The statue is valuable because it demonstrates developments unique to Chungcheong-do and Gyeonggi-do. Additionally, some scholars posit that these huge stones may have once been originally for Shamanistic practices and later subsumed into a Buddhist image.

Few reliably dated Buddhist sculptures from the 12th and 13th centuries have survived and so "it is difficult to assess the production of sculpture related to" the rising popularity of Seon Buddhism (Ch. Chan, Jp. Zen) and its association with the ruling military family of the mid-Goryeo period.

The seated Avalokiteshvara in "royal ease" pose from the 14th century at the National Museum of Korea shows the stylistic influence of Tibetan Lamaist Buddhism which was favored by the Yuan Mongol court. However, some scholars have suggested this statue is an import.

Early Goryeo (918–1170)

Seated Sakyamuni Buddha, 10th c. Cast iron, 2.88 m. National Museum of Korea, Treasure no. 332.
Early Koryo dynasty iron seated Buddha. Now held at the Koryo Museum in Kaesong, North Korea.
Seated Buddha.
Seated Buddha, early 10th c. Cast iron, h. 132 cm. National Museum of Korea.
Eunjin Mireuk, 931–968. Stone, h. 18.12 m.
Head of Buddha, 10th–11th c. Cast iron, h. 37.4 cm. National Museum of Korea.
Maitreya, early Goryeo period. Hyang'un-gak.
Seated bodhisattva, early Goryeo period. Woljeong-sa.
Foreground images from sixth and seventh c. Background images from Goryeo dynasty.