The gilt-bronze pensive Maitreya Bodhisattva () is a 6th-century Korean Buddhist sculpture from the Three Kingdoms of Korea period. Measuring approximately 17.5 cm in height, it depicts the Future Buddha (Maitreya) seated in a contemplative pose (in Korean: 반가사유), contemplating the deliverance of all sentient beings. The statue was discovered in 1944 in Pyeongcheon-ri, Pyeongyang, South Pyongan Province (present-day Pyongyang, North Korea), in an area historically aligned with the kingdom of Goguryeo. The statue is marked by rust and scorch stains probably caused by a fire that burnt the place where it had been stored. The Leeum Museum of Art currently holds the artifact. In 1964, it was designated as No. 118th National Treasure of South Korea.
Historical context The statue is believed to have been made in the late 6th century during the high period of Buddhist art transmission across Northeast Asia.
Prior to the archaeological analysis, the majority of surviving pensive statues were from Paekche and Silla, notably the gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation. (National Treasure No. 83) However, the discovery of this statue revealed the kingdom of Goguryeo also worshipped the bodhisattvas assuming a meditation pose.
The “half-seated pensive pose” (pan’ga sayu-sang) is believed by some art historians to portray Maitreya's waiting in meditation in Tuṣita Heaven. The imagery of Maitreya is found closely connected in the art of the Northern Wei and Northern Qi. In this regard, the artpiece demonstrates that Buddhist aesthetic idioms along northern Chinese trade routes were absorbed into Goguryeo via diplomatic ties with Chinese courts, before migrating further south to Paekche and Silla.
Description The Bodhisattva statue features the head in a tri-peak headgear gently bent forward, a square face with half-closed eyes and a smiling mouth, a naked upper body, a slender waist, wearing a skirt-like, lower garment draped down to cover the entire lower body.
The Bodhisattva adopts a classic contemplative pose, while the left leg hangs down with the foot resting on a lotus-shaped footrest. The right leg is folded horizontally with the ankle resting on the left knee. Beneath the seated figure lies an oval-shaped pedestal carved with inverted lotus petals. Directly underneath the hanging left foot is a dedicated footrest supported by upward-facing lotus petals, gently elevating and holding the Bodhisattva's foot.
Footnotes
See also National treasures of Korea Gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation (National Treasure No. 78) Index of Buddhism-related articles Secular Buddhism
External links Cultural Heritage Administration New York Times: Japanese Art and Its Korean Secret