Pensive Bodhisattva (National Treasure 78)
Late sixth century
The second of the two pensive figures is the older and the more ornate. He sits in the same pose, right leg crossed over the left knee, fingers raised to the cheek, but he wears a tall crown decorated with sun and crescent moon motifs, a long scarf falling over his shoulders and looping at the elbows, and a sash tied across his chest. The face is a little broader and more solemn than that of his neighbour, and the smile is fainter, as if the thought were heavier.
The drapery is where this statue rewards close attention. The scarf ends twist like ribbons in the wind, the skirt folds fall in sharp, almost geometric pleats, and the whole surface is alive with line. The style is close to Chinese sculpture of the Northern Qi and Sui periods, yet the slender proportions and the quiet expression are already Korean. Look at the back, which is fully modelled even though it would rarely have been seen, and at the delicate hands with their long fingers.
The statue came to the museum in nineteen twelve after passing through private hands, and its original temple is unknown. The crown with sun and moon suggests links with Central Asian imagery of celestial rulers that travelled along the Silk Road. For decades the two pensive bodhisattvas were displayed in turn, one at a time, in the Buddhist sculpture gallery. Since twenty twenty one they have shared the Room of Quiet Contemplation, and the museum's own slogan for the room, a time to lose yourself in thought, describes the experience well. Compare the two figures: one austere and smooth, the other richly dressed, both caught at the same instant of inward reflection.
Did You Know? The crown's sun and crescent moon ornaments echo royal headdresses from Persia and Central Asia, evidence of how far ideas travelled to sixth century Korea.
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