Unique Earthenware of Dae Gaya

Each region shows a subtle difference in the shape of its earthenware. Gaya formed a confederacy with independent regional states, and these states all carried the name "Gaya." When someone says "Gaya," it generally means the confederacy of these states. It’s similar to ancient Greece, which consisted of various independent city-states such as Athens and Sparta.

Did you see the giant earthenware model in the yard of the museum?
It is a bowl stand, which is the representative earthenware of Dae Gaya.

The earthenware of Dae Gaya can be compared to those from the neighboring kingdom called Silla. They look similar, but show subtle differences.

First, look at the bowl-shaped stand.
While Dae Gaya’s stand has smooth curved legs, Silla’s stand has square straight legs.

On top of Dae Gaya’s stand, there’s also a jar with a long neck.
The two were used as one set.
A button-shaped lid represents Dae Gaya’s jar.
In contrast, Silla’s jar doesn’t have a lid, and the jar had its own legs. So it was used by itself without any stand.
In addition to the bowl-shaped stand, Dae Gaya also has the cylindrical stand.
The cylindrical stand is represented by dense triangular and square holes in the body.
A snake-shaped vertical decoration makes it more extravagant.
We assume that it was used in rituals such as ancestral rites.
The one exhibited in the museum yard is the enlarged replica of this type of pottery.
As Dae Gaya grew, these earthenware shapes spread into other neighboring regions.