The Gichukmyeong Amitabha Buddha Statue is reproduced in silver for Coins Today’s latest bullion offering

In late 2021, South Korean producer, Coin’s Today, released a new bullion product in half a kilo of silver, reproducing an old Buddhist votive stele. These were stone tablets replete with carved scenes of Buddhist life and myth, and displayed in courtyards and public spaces for all to gain enlightenment from. That issue reproduced an example in the collection of Cheongju National Museum in Korea, and this second release also hails from there.

There’s more from CTK below on the history of the piece, so let’s look at the bar itself. Also formed in 500 grams of silver, and reaching a decent 1200 mm in height, it’s another impressive rendering. It is not one of CTK’s stackable range, so is fully dimensional on both the reverse and obverse sides. There’s lots of detail on the reverse face, and we particularly like that original damage, and the rock texture, is left in place rather than just making an idealised and whitewashed reproduction.

The back side of the piece is a full-on rock texture, as unlike the first issue in this series, the carving doesn’t seem to fill more than the front face. The base carries the inscribed composition details. All together, another fine, and very unique offering from a producer putting out some of the most original products in the marketplace today. Available to order shortly, it has a mintage of just 689 units.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Gichukmyeong Amitabha Buddha Statue is one of the three statues of Biamsa Temple. It was carved on a large stone in the shape of a boat, and only the front side has carvings, and four lines of inscriptions are engraved on the back side.

On the front side, the images of Buddha and Bodhisattva appear to change several times, as if scenes from the world of paradise were carved on stone. At the bottom, a lotus flower was placed around the statue as a base for the entire stone statue, and a railing and stairs were placed on top of it. Above it, a pond was expressed with a wave pattern, and lions were placed facing each other on the left and right of the railing. There is a large lotus flower in the centre of the pond, and Amitabha Buddha, the principal Buddha, sits on it. On the left and right, several Buddha statues in standing postures are arranged, following a strict left-right symmetry technique. The main Buddha’s clothes, which are greatly engraved, cover both shoulders, and the right hand is unclear, but the left hand is held under the chest. There are Bodhisattva statues on the left and right of the principal statue, and only the upper body of Arhat, a saint who has reached the state of Nirvana, is expressed between them. Next to the Bodhisattva statue is a ferocious ghost, a yakchasang, raising one hand to support the heavenly palace (天宮), and next to it is a guardian deity, Inwang. On top of the principal statue, 5 small Buddhas are engraved in a semicircle shape, and on top of that, 7 small Buddhas are expressed. Tree branches and leaves are expressed between these Buddha statues, and beads and ornaments are engraved to express the splendid appearance of paradise.

It is believed to have been made in the 9th year of King Sinmun of Shilla (689). It is a good example of the Buddha statue style in the early Unified Silla period, in which elements from the Three Kingdoms period and elements from the Tang Dynasty were mixed.

SPECIFICATION
DENOMINATION N/A
COMPOSITION 500 g of 0.999 silver
DIMENSIONS 56.6 x 100.0 mm
FINISH Antique
MODIFICATIONS High-relief
MINTAGE 689