A pair of gold earrings, 8.3 centimeters long and believed to have been worn by King Muryeong himself, was found in the tomb of the 25th Baekje monarch.
Five pairs of gold earrings were excavated from the tomb of King Muryeong (462-523), the 25th Baekje ruler, in Geumseok-dong, Gongju-si, Chungcheongnam-do Province, on July 5, 1971. One pair was owned by the king himself, it is believed, and the remaining four pairs were worn by the queen.
The king’s earrings have two ornaments of different shape and size hanging from a thick ring. One strip has two small and one large heart-shaped ornaments attached at the end of a hollow, tube-shaped middle ornament with a leaf-like design. The other strip has a bead-shaped ornament composed of a chain of small rings with leaf-shaped frills. At the end of the strip is a blue curved jade that goes well with the golden color.
Gold earrings for the queen of King Muryeong are among the artifacts excavated from the monarch’s tomb.
Four pairs of gold earrings were found in the royal tomb, two near where the head of the queen was located, the other two near her feet. The pairs discovered near her feet seem a bit simpler in design, with only a single cylindrical ornament.
In comparison, those found near her head are 11.8 centimeters long and feature as flamboyant and sophisticated ornaments as the king’s. They have decorations of different lengths hanging from a thick ring. The longer strip has a chain of twisted gold wires with round leaf-like ornaments. At the bottom is a bullet-shaped ornament with eight round frills. The other, shorter, strip is identical in shape, but has two leaf-like ornaments folded together, one over the other, instead of a bullet-shaped ornament. The leaf-shaped ornaments are connected up to the ring, with the greenish color of a round jade standing out.
Photos: Cultural Heritage Administration
