Baekje's Metal Crafts-1

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 design, cut out from thin gold plates, resembles flames with one shooting to the left and another upwards to the right.

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. Tiny holes were punched in the spangles and woven 4-6 times with gold thread. Imagine the spectacle the king would have made wearing such splendid accessories. When the king wore the diadem, these spangles would have looked both mystical and beautiful.

Now, shall we take a look at the Queen’s gold diadem ornaments? 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. The accessories are similar; however, compared to the extravagant, splendid ornaments of the King, the Queen’s diadem ornaments are simple and elegant.

Next, we will look at the King’s gold chignon ornament and belt, followed by the King and Queen’s earrings.