Gold Crown
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and began as Saro-guk located in Gyeongju. From the 6th century, when Silla proclaimed a detailed system of law, its politics and social status were founded on Buddhism, and the systematic succession of an ancient kingdom was achieved. In addition, Silla accomplished the unification of three kingdoms by strengthening its national power based on the production of iron. Wooden chamber tombs with a stone mound, Buddhism, and gold crowns symbolize Silla culture, and many different excavated artifacts such as drinking glasses show the international character of Silla culture.
Once described as “a land with striking gold and silver artifacts,” Silla was a kingdom with a splendid gold culture. This gold crown was excavated from the North tomb of Hwangnamdaechong in Gyeongju (the capital of the Silla Kingdom) and is the most representative Silla gold artifact. Hwangnamdaechong is the largest ancient tomb from the Silla dynasty. The tomb is a double mound for the burial of both the Silla king and queen, and is shaped like a gourd. In the north tomb, more ornaments including a silver belt ornament with an inscription of ‘Buindae (Madame’s belt)’ were found than in the south tomb. Thus, the north tomb can be presumed to have belonged to the queen.
The gold crown has three tree-like prongs (interpreted to represent the Chinese character for “mountain”) and two antler-like prongs. Silla gold crowns are very similar to Siberian shaman crown in shape. For this reason, based on the gold crown as well as the wooden chamber tombs with a stone mound, it is assumed that the ruling class at that time came from the northern region.
Gold Crown
Location: Silla Gallery at the Prehistory and Ancient History section (1st Floor)
Period/Date: Three Kingdoms Period, Silla, 5th century
Dimensions: Height 27.3cm
National Treasure no. 191
* This article is extracted from the NMK Magazine Vol.05
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