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Twin Lion Stone Lantern at Yeongamsa Temple Site, Hapcheon

합천 영암사지 쌍사자 석등 ( 陜川 靈岩寺址 雙獅子 石燈 )

Heritage Search Detail
Classification Treasure
Name of Cultural Properties Twin Lion Stone Lantern at Yeongamsa Temple Site, Hapcheon
Quantity 1 stone lantern
Designated Date 1963.01.21
Age Unified Silla
Address 637-97, Hwangmaesan-ro, Gahoe-myeon, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do

This stone lantern was erected on the site of Yeongamsa Temple in the Unified Silla Period. In 1933, the Japanese tried to take it away, but the people in the village resisted, kept it from them, and preserved it in the myeon (township) office. It was moved to its present location in 1959, after a hermitage was built at the temple site. The light chamber is set in the middle of the lantern, with a three-tiered base below and a capstone above. It is octagonal in shape, a typical style of the Unified Silla Period, except for the middle of base of the twin lion stone statue. A lotus design is engraved on the bottom base stone on which stands the statue of two lions with their chests together. Their back claws are stepping on the bottom base stone, while the front claws hold up the upper stone with their heads facing upwards. The manes, tails and muscles look very realistic. The light chamber has windows on four sides, while images of the Four Guardian Kings are engraved on the other four sides. These Four Guardian Kings were believed to be the deities that protected the Buddhist law from evil forces, thereby becoming a symbol of patriotism. An octagonal shaped capstone is thin and level, and a small floral statue rises from every corner. It is assumed that the lantern was made in the ninth century, the late Unified Silla Period, judging from that its style and the statue became rather formalized compared to those of the golden age of the Unified Silla. It is a masterpiece ranking with the Twin Lion Stone Lantern of Beopjusa Temple, Boeun (National Treasure No. 5).