Go to contents

Exhibition of 600 first class Shilla Dynasty relics

Posted July. 29, 2015 07:15,   

한국어

The golden sword of state sparkles brightly. Edges decorated with gold particles, the sword reminds people of golden earring of the Shilla Dynasty. The upper part of the sheath, in gold, is embedded with red garnet with Taegeuk pattern, adding an exotic atmosphere. The bottom part is covered with an oval glass.

“Gyerimro Sword of State,” found at the Gyerimro No. 14 tomb in Gyeongju City, North Gyeongsang Province, in 1973, is a relic that shows that the Shilla Dynasty was a global society. A similar sword was excavated in Borovoe, Kazakhstan. The academic circle estimates that “Gyerimro Sword of State” was first made in Central Asia or coastal areas of the Black Sea, and then came to Shilla Dynasty. “Gyerimro Sword of State” is the only Shilla relic of an exotic feature, and is a footprint of exchanges of civilization traversing the Eurasia continent.

The Gyeongju National Museum recently held a special exhibition called “Shilla’s Golden Culture and Buddhist Art,” where first class Shilla relics were exhibited. Besides “Gyerimro Sword of State,” 600 pieces of Shilla cultural assets were exhibited including “Gilt-bronze Contemplative Bodhisattva” (national treasure No. 83), “Geumgwanchong Ancient Tomb” (national treasure No. 87) and “Bomun Tomb Gold Earring” (national treasure No. 90). Among these, the “Gilt-bronze Contemplative Bodhisattva” will be present in Gyeongju for the first time.

The exhibition is assessed as an integration of Shilla’s external exchange, religion and funeral culture. Just as the name of Shilla, which has origin from “new virtuous achievements every day, and looking everywhere,” signals, the exhibition also highlights Shilla’s openness in a modern manner.

For example, in the Part 3 external exchange section, a stone statue whose face resembles a Western man, shows an external exchange of Shilla along with “Gyerimro Sword of State,” “head-shaped glass bottle unearthed from the Hwangnamdaechong Tomb” and “Gilt-bronze copper shoes from Shingni-Chong.” It shows the global dynamism of Shilla culture. There are theories that Shilla’s golden relics from the 4th century B.C. to the 6th century B.C. and “wooden chamber tomb with stone mound” have their origins from the grasslands of the northern region.



sukim@donga.com