Skip to content

Category Archives: Seoul National Museum

The Pensive Bodhisattva comes to Brussels

06-Oct-08

The Pensive Bodhisattva comes to Brussels

By Matthew Jackson The centrepiece of the Bozar exhibition of Korean Buddhist Art, beginning in Brussels on the 10th of October, will be the Pensive Bodhisattva statue, Korea’s National Treasure No. 83. It is difficult to describe in words why the statue is regarded so highly as a work of Buddhist art, because its qualities consist primarily in simplicity and lack of detail. Although words may be inadequate, the statue’s renown in Asia (not least of all Japan, whose No. 1 national treasure is a near exact wooden copy of the statue) is primarily due to the feelings that it evokes in those who see it. There are various interpretations of the statue’s meaning, but scholars agree that it is intended to depict ...
Also filed in Bozar 2008, Historical, KSCPP, Permanent displays, Smile of Buddha | Tagged , | Comments (0) »

The Sarira Casket

27-Sep-08

The Sarira Casket

Matthew Jackson describes one of the Buddhist treasures in the Seoul National Museum. Of the few people I have asked who have visited the Seoul National Museum, no one has mentioned the Kameun Sarira Casket as the high point of their tour. When I visited the museum myself, even though I was specifically looking out for it, it became clear to me why. At a first glance, in room crowded full of exhibits, its initial appearance does not suggest anything special. Yet this masterpiece of gold artwork must surely rank among the greatest cultural exhibits Korea has to offer the world, both for its unique detail, and its profound religious symbolism. [caption id="attachment_5638" align="alignright" width="220" caption="The real deal - gold granules on ...
Also filed in Historical, KSCPP, Permanent displays | Tagged , | Comments (0) »