Head of Buddha

This Buddha head was discovered in Cheorwagol Valley of Mt. Namsan, Gyeongju, in 1959. Only the head remains, leaving no clues as to the original form. However, the back of the neck appears to have been manually chipped to balance the head and enable it to stand, so it is possible that it was never attached to a body. Although the back is only roughly shaped, the front of the face is portrayed in great detail, with an urna embossed in the forehead and a large Ushnisha standing out from the top of the head. The rather long face has elegantly arched eyebrows, tightly closed lips, and a plump lower lip and jaw, though neither of the ears were included in the details. The head is believed to date back to the Unified Silla Period, sometime between the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 9th century.