From the Seven-Branched Sword to mother-of-pearl lacquer — Three Kingdoms crowns, censers and daggers, the great bell of Unified Silla, Goryeo silver inlay and najeon
국립중앙박물관(National Museum of Korea) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
| Object | Period · kingdom | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Seven-Branched Sword | Baekje, 4th c. (Geunchogo) | Seven-pronged iron sword sent to Wa; Isonokami Shrine, Japan |
| Silla gold crowns | Silla, 5th–6th c. | Tree- and antler-shaped uprights; jades and spangles |
| Gyerim-ro dagger | Silla, 5th–6th c. | Garnets in gold; contact with Western Asia |
| Gold crown ornaments, Tomb of King Muryeong | Baekje, 525 | Flame-like gold ornaments; brick tomb in Southern Liang style |
| Gilt-bronze incense burner | Baekje, late 6th c. (Buyeo) | Dragon base, phoenix top; Buddhist and Daoist worlds |
| Divine Bell of King Seongdeok | Unified Silla, 771 | Flying celestials; sound tube; largest surviving Korean bell |
| Silver-inlaid bronze kundika | Goryeo, 12th c. | Silver wire inlaid in bronze; waterside scene |
| Mother-of-pearl lacquer (sutra boxes, etc.) | Goryeo, 12th–14th c. | Shell and tortoiseshell inlaid in lacquer; praised by Xu Jing |
King Geunchogo absorbed Mahan and attacked Goguryeo’s Pyongyang, opening Baekje’s golden age and trading by sea with Eastern Jin and Wa.
Gold crowns from Silla’s stone-mound tombs, with tree-shaped (出-shaped) and antler-shaped uprights hung with curved jades and spangles.
A gold-decorated dagger from a tomb on Gyerim-ro, Gyeongju — garnets set in gold in a Western Asian style, evidence of Silla’s contact with distant lands.
King Muryeong, who died in 523, was buried in a brick tomb at Songsan-ri, Gongju, in 525; it was found intact in 1971.
A Baekje censer found in 1993 at a temple site in Neungsan-ri, Buyeo — held up by a dragon and crowned by a phoenix, its lid carved with an immortals’ paradise.
King Hyegong completed the great bell begun by Gyeongdeok in memory of his father Seongdeok; it is also known as the Emille Bell.
A Goryeo bronze ritual ewer whose surface is cut and inlaid with silver wire to show a waterside of willows, reeds and waterfowl — the same principle as inlaid celadon.
Lacquered ware inlaid with thin pieces of abalone and shell cut into patterns — so fine that a Song envoy singled it out for praise.
Thirteenth king of Baekje, who absorbed Mahan and attacked Pyongyang in its golden age
Baekje erudite under King Geunchogo who is said to have compiled the history Seogi
Twenty-fifth king of Baekje, who sent royal kin to the 22 damno districts and revived the kingdom
36th king of Silla, enthroned at eight and killed amid aristocratic revolts, ending the direct line of King Muyeol
35th king of Silla, who sinicized official titles and place names but restored the nogeup stipend villages; Bulguksa and Seokguram were begun in his reign
33rd king of Silla, who granted jeongjeon fields to commoners and restored relations with Tang