Name/TitlePensive bodhisattva made in Korea, National Museum of Korea

About this objectThis gilt-bronze statue of a bodhisattva in pensive mode was made in the Korean peninsula towards the end of the Three Kingdoms period (1st century BC–AD 668), directly influenced by an iconography that had emerged in Gandhāra some six centuries earlier and been transmitted through 5th and 6th century examples of the Northern Wei dynasty (386–585) in northern China. The distinctive crown is known as a samsangwan (crown with three peaks) or a yeonhwagwan (lotus crown).

Date Made6th to 7th century

PeriodThree Kingdoms

Place MadeKorea

Subject and Association KeywordsArrivals

Subject and Association KeywordsTravelling bodhisattvas

Subject and Association DescriptionLearn more: Lee 1993: Lee nd; Leidy 1990; National Museum of Korea 2022.

Medium and MaterialsGilt bronze

TechniqueCast

Measurements93.5 cm

Credit LineNational Museum of Korea

Object numberEXH28: Korea NT 83