Gwaebul (괘불), meaning "Large Buddhist Banner Painting," are extremely large-scale Buddhist scroll paintings found throughout Korea. They are fairly rare, and only 53 were studied between 1986 and 2001. The paintings are typically brought out only rarely for special festivals or holidays such as

Buddha's Birthday Buddha's Birthday (also known as Buddha Jayanti, also known as his day of enlightenment – Buddha Purnima, Buddha Pournami) is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of East Asia and South Asia commemorating the birth of the Gautama ...

Gwaebul Festival Gwaebul (괘불), meaning "Large Buddhist Banner Painting," are extremely large-scale Buddhist scroll paintings found throughout Korea. They are fairly rare, and only 53 were studied between 1986 and 2001. The paintings are typically brought out ...

s when they are unrolled and hung from tall poles in the temple courtyard. When not in use, ''gwaebul'' are stored in a box behind the altar in a temple hall. They compare with the ''

thongdrel A Thongdrel (alt. throngdrel) is a large appliqué religious image normally only unveiled during ''tsechus'', the main religious festivals in Bhutan. They are the largest form of ''thangka'' paintings in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. ...

s'' of

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

ese and

Tibetan art The vast majority of surviving Tibetan art created before the mid-20th century is religious, with the main forms being thangka, paintings on cloth, mostly in a technique described as gouache or distemper, Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings, and sma ...

. These are made from applique silk, and in Tibetan monasteries

thangka wall A thangka wall is, in Tibetan religious architecture, a stone-built structure used for hanging giant, or monumental, appliqued thangkas, or scrolls, in some of the major Buddhist monasteries of Tibet. These giant thangkas are called ''gos ku'', ' ...

s are constructed specially for their display.

Status as Cultural Assets

Of the known ''gwaebul,'' seven have been designated as National Treasures, 47 as

Treasures A treasure is a concentration of riches. Treasure may also refer to: Literature * ''Treasure'' (Cussler novel), a 1988 novel by Clive Cussler * ''Treasure'' (magazine), a British periodical for children * '' Treasure: In Search of the Golden Ho ...

, and eight as Registered Cultural Heritage objects.

References

Buddhist art Korean painting {{buddhism-stub

Status as Cultural Assets

See also

References