The 558 Artworks exhibited in South Korea

Starting in the early 6th century CE, Silla necklaces, crowns, and earrings became very heavily decorated, as exemplified by this gorgeous necklace, which is made of round “beads” that were formed by connecting several of the round spangles that were traditionally used to decorate the thick central ...

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This crown cap ornament, from Hwangnamdaechong Tomb in Gyeongju, resembles a flying bird with widespread wings. Ornaments like this were folded vertically and attached to crown caps, which were shaped like peaked hats. The front base of this crown cap ornament is smooth and pointed, allowing it to b...

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The Tomb of King Muryeong the Great (in Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do Province) is the only tomb from the Three Kingdoms Period whose occupant has been definitively identified, thanks to a stone epitaph that recorded the names of the interred. The tomb is a brick structure with an arched ceiling that ha...

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Hwangnamdaechong Tomb in Gyeongju is a double tomb, with the two burials attached along a north-south axis. It is believed that a king was buried beneath the South Mound and a queen beneath the North Mound. This gold crown was discovered in the North Mound, and the gold girdle ornament was inscribed...

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Silla crown caps were shaped like peaked hats, with strings attached to each side that were tied under the chin to hold the cap in place. The front part of the crown cap was adorned with a large ornament shaped like the wings of a bird or butterfly. This particular crown cap, which came from Geumgwa...

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These earrings were discovered in 1915 in the stone burial chamber of the Bomun-ri Double Burial in Gyeongju. With exquisite decorations made with gold granules and thread, and dozens of attached gold spangles, these are certainly the finest earrings yet discovered from the Three Kingdoms period. Mo...

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In ancient times, before the fabrication of glass had been fully developed, glass was considered just as precious as gold or silver. Silla glass vessels have generally been found in large-scale tombs that are believed to have been royal tombs. These particular glass vessels, which were excavated fro...

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Hwangnamdaechong Tomb in Gyeongju is a double tomb, with the two burials attached along a north-south axis. It is believed that a king was buried beneath the South Mound and a queen beneath the North Mound. This gold girdle was discovered in the North Mound, and the gold girdle ornament was inscribe...

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This statue strikes a classic contemplative pose: one leg perched up on the other knee, with fingers raised up against the cheek. This pose is quite common in Buddhist sculpture, and it was derived from the young Indian Prince, Siddhartha Gautama, contemplating the nature of human life. In China, su...

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At 2.88 m in height and weighing 6.2 tons, this massive statue is the largest iron Buddha ever found in Korea. It was discovered at a temple site in Hasachang-dong, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do in 1911. An archaeological survey of the temple site carried out after the 1945 Liberation revealed that the stat...

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Gaya was a wide-ranging confederacy of tribal political entities, scattered around the mid- and lower regions of the Nakdong River, which flows through the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula. The Gaya Confederacy (42-562 CE) developed and expanded based on wealth gained from iron, which they ...

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This bronze artifact is shaped like a shield, and is believed to have been a ritual object used by the chief priest during religious ceremonies. It was found in a wooden coffin burial from a stone mound tomb site in Namseong-ri, Asan, Chungnam Province. The three holes along the top of the artifact ...

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The Bronze Age cultures of the Korean Peninsula can be divided into the “Liaoning-type bronze dagger culture” (1000-400 BCE) and the “Korean-type bronze dagger culture,” which developed around the 5th to 4th centuries BCE. In addition to Korean-type bronze daggers, characterized by their long, slend...

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The early communities of the Korean Peninsula first began to use metal objects during the Bronze Age (10th to 4th century BCE). These early metal objects were made of bronze, which is an alloy consisting of copper and smaller proportions of tin, zinc, and lead. The production of bronze objects was a...

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This necklace was found in situ around the neck of the deceased who was interred in the South Mound of Hwangnamdaechong Tomb in Gyeongju. It consists of a central comma‐shaped gold pendant and six hollow gold beads (three per side), connected by a gold chain. The necklace has clasps at the end, for ...

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