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Beads

Place of OriginKorea, ancient kingdom of Silla
Dateapprox. 500-600
PeriodThree Kingdoms period (57 BCE-668 CE), Old Silla kingdom (57 BCE–668 CE)
MaterialsGold
DimensionsL. 5 1/8 in, L. 13 cm
Credit LineMuseum purchase, City Arts Trust Fund
Object number1991.218
DepartmentKorean Art
ClassificationsDecorative Arts
On View
On view
LocationGallery 21
More Information

Three Kingdoms Ornaments

All of these objects were made in the Old Silla kingdom of Korea (57 BCE–668 CE) during the Three Kingdoms period, between approximately 500 and 600.

In the early 1970s and 1980s, excavations of tombs in Seorabul (today’s Gyeongju), the capital of Silla, revealed that men and women in power resplendently adorned themselves. Their tombs were filled with luxurious accessories such as gold crowns, crown caps, rings, elaborately or simply decorated earrings, belts, bracelets, and necklaces made of gold, silver, and glass. Glass was considered just as precious as gold and silver because fabrication of it in Korea, most likely transmitted through trade on the Silk Road, was not yet fully developed. The ornaments shown in this case are examples of Old Silla jewelry-making traditions and techniques.

Beads
approx. 500-600
String of beads
approx. 1850-1900
Prayer beads
approx. 1800-1900
Beads
475-221 BCE
String of beads
200 BCE-200 CE
String of beads
approx. 1850-1900
Necklace of beads
approx. 1300-1500
Prayer beads
1900-1987
Lama with prayer beads
approx. 1885-1920
Bell-shaped bead
approx. 600-1000