Seated MaitreyaThis seated bodhisattva Maitreya
in contemplation is one of the most famous Korean Buddhist statues. Maitreya, who dwells
in the Tushita heaven from which he will descend as the Buddha of the Future, was thought
to hold the promise of enlightenment for all sentient beings. The depiction of this deity
in contemplation derives from an iconographic convention originally applied to images of
the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, whose contemplation of the suffering of sentient beings
prompted his search for enlightenment.
The serene expression of this image and the delicately posed hand raised to the right
cheek create a sense of profound concentration that is reinforced by the slight bend of
the shoulders and the forward-leaning position of the torso. The extraordinary thinness of
the bronze (less than one centimeter thick) testifies to the accomplished casting skills
of artisans of the Three Kingdoms period.
