Two Treasures from Kansong Art Museum Collection to be Auctioned... Featured in K-Auction on the 27th

Gansong Art Museum Faces Financial Difficulties, Puts Collection Up for Auction for the First Time

Treasure No. 284 Gilt-Bronze Standing Buddha (left) and No. 285 Gilt-Bronze Standing Bodhisattva [Photo by K Auction]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Two treasures owned by the Gansong Art Museum will be auctioned at 4 p.m. on the 27th at K-Auction's headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The two treasures to be exhibited are Treasure No. 284, the Gilt-Bronze Standing Buddha (Geumdong Yeorae Ipsang), and Treasure No. 285, the Gilt-Bronze Standing Bodhisattva (Geumdong Bosal Ipsang). Both pieces were designated as treasures in 1963.

The Gansong Art Museum, established in 1938, is Korea's first private art museum. Gansong Jeon Hyeong-pil collected national treasure-level cultural assets that were about to be exported to Japan during the Japanese colonial period by using his private funds and founded the Gansong Art Museum. This is the first time the museum has put its collection up for auction, reportedly due to accumulated financial difficulties.

Treasure No. 284, the Gilt-Bronze Standing Buddha, is a work that shows transitional aspects of the Unified Silla sculpture style established in the 8th century. It stands upright in a dignified posture facing forward on an octagonal lotus pedestal (pedestal: a base on which a Buddha statue is placed) with a clearly perforated urna. Although the exact excavation site is unknown, its size of 38 cm is unusually large for gilt-bronze Buddha statues made at that time. Although the gilding is partially worn off, it maintains an almost complete state from the ushnisha (head) to the pedestal.

The head features distinctly clear curls (nabal, the Buddha's hair), and the ushnisha rises high like a spinning top. The Buddha's facial features show a plump appearance; the forehead is narrow, the eyes are long and large sideways, and the nose and mouth are small. A subtle smile graces the slightly pursed lips, but compared to Buddhas of earlier periods, it appears rather solemn.

Treasure No. 285, the Gilt-Bronze Standing Bodhisattva, is a Buddha statue excavated from Geochang and is the only Buddha statue excavated from the Silla region to date. The posture of the Bodhisattva holding the jewel (boju) with hands gathered forward and the fin-like drapery extending on both sides is particularly similar to the Kuse Kannon (Kuse Kannon) of Horyu-ji Temple in Japan, which is known to have been created in the 7th century.

The estimated auction price for each of the two works is 1.5 billion KRW.

The exhibited works can be viewed at the K-Auction exhibition hall from the afternoon of the 21st by prior reservation. The starting price of the auction will be finalized on the day of the auction.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.