이 글은 고흥 불대사에 조성 봉안했던 삼세불상 중 서울 지장암에 봉안되어 있는 본존 목(木) 석가불좌상에 대한 연구이다. 첫째 조성기를 통하여 불대사 삼세불상의 조성배경을 알아본 결과 1653년에 석가․약사․아미타 등을 조성하여 고흥군 조계산의 불대사에 봉안했으며 불상 조성에 참여한 인원을 신도 26가(家) 46명, 승려 참여자 15명, 책임자 2명, 조성 조각승 7명 등 승려 24명이어서 모두 70명이나 되었다. 또한 수 조각승은 희장(熙藏)이며, 그의 제자 6명과 함께 조성한 것이다. 둘째 석가불상의 특징과 복장품을 살펴보았다. 석가불상은 얼굴이 풍만하지만 다소 하관이 빠진 형태, 건장하고 뚱뚱하며, 두꺼운 체구 등에서 희장 불상 가운데 가장 대표적인 작품임을 알 수 있다. 이 불상의 복장에서 불상의 조성년대․조성사찰․조성자․조성 조각승 등을 알려주는 조성기와 복장․후령통 2종, 경전 등이 안장된 것이 발견되었다. 셋째 양식적 특징에서 17세기 중엽 불상의 공통적인 특징을 보여주면서 희장 작품의 특징을 잘 살린 대표작 임을 밝힐 수 있었다. 끝으로 이 석가불상은 능가사 대웅전에 봉안된 약사․아미타불상과 함께 고흥 불대사의 삼세불상이었음을 확인할 수 있었다. 현재 본존 석가불은 서울 지장암에 봉안되어 있고, 약사․아미타불상은 고흥 능가사 대웅전에 봉안되어 있지만 폐사된 불대사의 삼세불상이고 이들은 당대의 대표적 조각승 희장의 대표작으로 확인하게 되었다는 점에 의의가 있을 것이다.
The present study is about the Wooden Seated Shakyamuni Statue enshrined at the Jijang‐am Hermitage in Seoul among the Buddha Triad Statues that had been created and enshrined at the Buldae‐sa Temple in Goheung. First, according to the results of investigating the background of the creation of the Buddha Triad Statues at the Buldae‐sa Temple based on the records about the creation, the Shakyamuni, Bhaisajyaguru and Amitabha Statues were created in 1653, and enshrined at the Buldae‐sa Temple in Mt. Jogye in Goheung‐gun, and the participants in the project were 46 Buddhist believers from 26 families, 15 Buddhist priests, 2 administrators, and 7 sculptor monks, so a total of 70 people including 25 Buddhist monks. In addition, the chief sculptor monk was Heejang, who created the statues together with his 6 students. Second, according to the results of examining the characteristics of the Shakyamuni Statue and contents stored in the belly, the face of the Shakyamuni Statue is wellrounded but its jaw is somewhat sagging, and the body is sturdy, fleshy and thick. These characteristics suggest that the statue is one of Heejang’s representative works. From the belly of the Buddhist Statue were found a record on the creation showing the date of creation, the superintendent temple, the promoter, the sculptor monks, two containers, and Buddhist scriptures. Third, the style of the statue shows the common characteristics of Buddhist statues in the mid 17th century, and represents the peculiarity of Heejang’s works very clearly. Lastly, the Shakyamuni Statue was one of the Buddha Triad Statues together with Bhaisajyaguru and Amitabha Statues at the Hall of Shakyamuni of the Neungga‐saTemple, which had originally been enshrined at the Buldae‐sa Temple in Goheung. Currently, the Central Shakyamuni Statue is enshrined at the Jijang‐am Hermitage in Seoul, and the Bhaisajyaguru and Amitabha Statues are enshrined at the Hall of Sakyamuni of the Neungga‐sa Temple in Goheung. This study is meaningful in that it confirmed that the Buddha Triad Statues had originally been enshrined at the Buldaesa Temple, which was ruined, and they were representative works of Heejang, one of prominent sculptor monks in those days.