Buddhist art and history exhibit opens at National Museum of Korea

For the first time, the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul, is introducing early Buddhist Art originating from the southeastern Deccan Plateau of India.

Dome panel with a scene of transporting Prince Siddhartha’s headdress to heaven from the late 200s [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

Buddhism has been and continues to be one of the major religions in the world, and even though surveys show that about half of the entire Korean population is nonreligious, Buddhism still has strong roots in the country.

And yet, no exhibition in Korea has really taken a deep dive into the history of Buddhism in southern India. So for the first time, the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul, is introducing early Buddhist Art originating from the southeastern Deccan Plateau of India. The exhibition opened last month at the museum’s Special Exhibition Gallery.

“Buddhism is a religion that originated in India, and from there its earliest schools of thoughts, sects, monastic orders developed and later on proliferated to many faraway lands, conveying the message of love and peace,” Dr. Buddha Rashmi Mani, the director-general of the National Museum, New Delhi, said.

Titled “Tree and Serpent,” the exhibition is filled with Southern Indian art from 200 B.C. to A.D. 400 that reflect Buddhist symbolism and philosophy. The show was initially held last year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The National Museum of Korea is now the exhibit’s second stop. The artworks are from the collections of 12 Indian institutions including the National Museum, New Delhi, and the British Museum and the Met.

The core theme of the exhibition is the stupa, which are religious structures that serve as Buddhist shrines.

On view are fragments of stupas, including adornments, pillars, dome panels and jewelry.

Affluence and prosperity was an important motif in early Indian art. These were depicted through lotus vines, emerging from jars filled with water, symbolizing abundance.

“The lotus was usually featured in traces of Buddha,” Ryu Seung-jin, the curator of the exhibition, said. “It’s also a symbol of samsara: the continuous cycle of death and rebirth, which was one of the main doctrines of Buddhism.”

Mythological figures such as Lakshmi and the Yakshas also were important. Lakshmi, the Hinduist goddess of wealth, fortune and power, was usually represented as almost naked and with a voluptuous body shape, while heavily adorned with jewelry.

″Yaksa Padmanidhi″ (late 200s) [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

The Yakshas were deities that could evolve into various forms and were attributed to fertility and nature.

Southern Indian culture may seem foreign to Korean visitors, but there is no need to fret, curator Ryu stressed. The exhibition was arranged to focus on the vibrancy of the ancient art rather than giving a scholastic approach, by transforming the gallery into a forest-like space.

“Tree and Serpent” continues until April 14. The National Museum of Korea is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. Opening hours extend to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tickets are 10,000 won ($7.60) for adults.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]