Two National Treasures Owned by Gansong Art Museum Up for Auction... "Estimated Price 3 to 4 Billion KRW"

The First Ever National Treasure Auction Submission

'Gilt-Bronze Triad Buddha Shrine' designated as National Treasure No. 73. (Photo by K Auction)

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] Two national treasures owned by Gansong Art Museum, Korea's first private art museum, will be featured in K-Auction's first major auction of the year. This is the first time that national treasures designated as state cultural properties have been put up for auction.

K-Auction announced on the 14th that National Treasure No. 73, 'Gilt-Bronze Triad Buddha Shrine (金銅三尊佛龕),' and National Treasure No. 72, 'Gye-mi Inscribed Gilt-Bronze Triad Buddha Standing Statue (癸未銘金銅三尊佛立像),' will be exhibited at the first major auction of the year, held at 4 p.m. on the 27th at its headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The Gilt-Bronze Triad Buddha Shrine is a Buddhist shrine made during the Goryeo Dynasty in the 11th to 12th centuries and was designated as a national treasure on December 20, 1962. A Buddhist shrine is a portable temple carved from wood, stone, or metal to enshrine a Buddha statue. It is generally constructed in a form similar to the architecture of the time, making it an important resource for studying contemporary architectural styles. Inside the shrine, on a square pedestal, are the principal Buddha and bodhisattva statues on either side.

'Gye-mi Myeong Geumdong Samjonbul Ipsang', designated as National Treasure No. 72. (Photo by K Auction)

The Gye-mi Inscribed Gilt-Bronze Triad Buddha Standing Statue was also designated as a national treasure on the same day as the shrine. An inscription on the back of the statue reads, "Made in the 11th month of the Gye-mi year by Bohwa for his late father Jo Gwii-in," which suggests it was created in 563, the Gye-mi year.

The estimated prices of the two national treasures are "inquiries required" and have not been publicly disclosed. However, a K-Auction official explained, "The estimated price for the Gye-mi Inscribed Gilt-Bronze Triad Buddha Standing Statue is between 3.2 billion and 4.5 billion KRW, and for the Gilt-Bronze Triad Buddha Shrine, it is expected to be between 2.8 billion and 4 billion KRW."

In May 2020, Gansong Art Museum also consigned two Buddhist statues, Treasure No. 284 Gilt-Bronze Buddha Standing Statue and Treasure No. 285 Gilt-Bronze Bodhisattva Standing Statue, to K-Auction, each with a starting price of 1.5 billion KRW. Financial difficulties due to the construction of a new storage facility were the main reason for consigning them to the auction market. This event accelerated the introduction of the "artwork tax payment system." However, there were no bidders at that auction, and the items were passed over.

Meanwhile, K-Auction will offer 144 works worth approximately 18.7 billion KRW at this auction. Featured works include Kim Whanki's 1955 painting "Mountain" (estimated price 2.3 billion to 3.5 billion KRW), Park Seo-bo's 1985 work "Myobeop No. 213-85" (estimated price 900 million to 1.3 billion KRW), and Lee Ufan's "With the Wind S8708-39" (estimated price 350 million to 500 million KRW).

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