NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 05/2017
the Cover
This 19.4-centimeter-tall cast bronze bowl was excavated from the Gyeongju Houchong tomb in May 1946.
Inscribed on the bottom of the bowl are the following sixteen characters: "eulmyonyeonguk (乙卯年國) gangsanggwanggae (岡上廣開) tojihotae (土地好太) wanghowusip (王壺杅十)." Above the inscription is a "井" shaped mark in relief. The inscription indicates that the bowl was made in the year of Eulmyo (415) to commemorate King Gwanggaeto the Great of the ancient Korean kingdom Koguryo. The bowl is estimated to have been manufactured one year after King Gwanggaeto the Great's funeral to memorialize the occasion.
Houchong is regarded as a Silla era tomb built in the early sixth century, so it seems that the featured bronze bowl was buried in the tomb more than a century after it was made. Many cultural artifacts of Koguryo flowed into Silla around the time the bowl is likely to have been buried, which demonstrates how close the relations between two kingdoms had been.
Reference: National Museum of Korea
- Northeast Asia History Network
- Northeast Asia History Library
- DOKDO Research Institute
- DOKDO Museum Seoul
- Education and Training
