Metal Craft Found from Anap Pond, Bountiful Life of the Royal Family

These exhibits on the second floor of Anapji Hall are all metal-crafted objects that belonged to members of the Silla royal family. Most of the relics exhibited in museums were recovered from tombs but these from Anap Pond were designed for daily use.

Let’s look at the tableware first. The hollow bowl with a lid was used as a rice bowl. The same small characters engraved on the bottom of the bowl and inside the lid indicate a matching set. The objects used by the royal family were much more detailed than those used by commoners.

Look at the spoons in the glass case on the right. How did people eat their meals with such large utensils? In fact, these were used as ladles to serve food out of large dishes.

Spoons like these have been found in Japan. A boxed set of ten Silla spoons found in Japan indicates that Silla exported goods there.

Stepping to the right, you will see various relics that once decorated Silla’s palaces. The king’s chair is decorated with carvings of dragon heads with bulging eyeballs and curved fangs. The dragon and the phoenix were the traditional symbols of the king in Korea, therefore many dragon and phoenix motifs would have been seen in palace interiors.