Golden Diadem Ornaments of King and Queen

These artifacts are items of ornate regal jewelry excavated from the Royal Tomb of King Muryeong. Let’s examine them one by one.

The first ones are gold diadem ornaments that belonged to the king. Can you recall the features of the bust of King Muryeong that we saw earlier? These flame-shaped ornaments were made with thin gold plates and were depicted adorning the king’s head. The two ornaments appear to be identical, but they are actually symmetrical when attached to the diadem.

The king’s gold diadem ornaments consist of a lotus and flame design. If you look closer, you will see the stems and blossoms of the lotuses with small gold spangles attached. Imagine the spectacle the king would have made, appearing before his subjects wearing such splendid accessories. When the king wore the diadem in the sunlight, these spangles would have looked both mystical and beautiful; shining with the king’s every step. There are as many as 127 small, gold spangles attached to the ornaments. It is surprising that Baekje artisans could produce such delicate, metal-worked objects at the time.

When you move to the right, you will see the gold diadem ornaments that were worn by the queen. Just like the king’s, the queen’s gold diadem ornaments are made out of thin gold plates and the pattern is quite similar. The only major difference is that the queen’s are smaller. Compared to the splendid, extravagant diadem ornaments of the king, the queen’s appear elegant and simple.

We will now move on to look at the next artifact – a symbol of royal authority, the bronze mirror.