Pensive Bodhisattva

This statue was originally housed in Geumsanjae, which was the shrine by the Tomb of General Kim Yoo-shin in Mt. Songhwasan, Gyeongju, but it was moved to the museum in 1930. The pensive Bodhisattva statue sits on a chair with its right foot crossed on top of the left knee; the two arms were lost long ago. A plain necklace is embossed onto the naked upper body. The pedestal has two tiers: a square upper tier and circular lower tier. The Bodhisattva's left foot rests on a lotus flower that extends from the circular pedestal at the bottom. As with the Bodhisattva found at Bukji-ri of Bonghwa, Gyeongsangbuk-do, which is now housed in the Kyungpook National University Museum, the excavation site of this representative Bodhisattva from Silla is clearly known.