국립중앙박물관 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA

Highlights
Wall Painting
  • Exhibition Name

    Fragment of a Mural Featuring a Horse Rider

  • Nationality/Period

    Goguryeo Kingdom

  • Materials

    Stone

  • Dimensions

    H. 44.0cm

  • Accession Number

    K 157

  • Location

    Goguryeo Kingdom

This fragment comes from a mural painted on the plaster of the south wall of the entrance corridor leading to Ssangyeongchong Tomb, a Goguryeo mural tomb. The walls of the corridor were once richly decorated with images of people riding chariots and horses, as well as musicians playing their instruments, but they have now all but disappeared. In 1913, when Ssangyeongchong Tomb was investigated by the Japanese, this fragment was still attached to the wall, but it later came into the possession of the Joseon Government-General Museum and ultimately ended up in the current collection. Ssangyeongchong Tomb consists of two chambers, with an entrance corridor leading to the front room, followed by a connecting corridor leading to the burial chamber. The entire wall surface of the burial chamber was plastered and then decorated with paintings that showed scenes from everyday life and the Four Guardian Deities. This particular mural fragment features a horseman and provides valuable information about the type of horse tack that Goguryeo people used, as well as what they wore.