Page 22 - Symbols_of_Identity_Korean_Ceramics_from the Chang Collection

1. ost of the extremities of this gray pottery figurine have
Lion figurine (fragment) Mbeen broken off and worn smooth. The figure’s mouth,
4th–7th century, Three Kingdoms (Silla) with its snout now partially worn down, is open, and the re-
Earthenware mains of what may have been a tongue can be seen. Incised
H: 22.5 cm, W: 9.5 cm lines, representing fur, adorn most of its body. The eyes were
made by insetting small, round pieces of clay into the sock-
ets. One side of the animal is stained a rust color.

The breakages on this figurine have mostly worn smooth,
and the rust-like staining appears to have occurred after the
significant breakages. This suggests the piece was disturbed,
fragmented, and weathered while still in the ground. The fig-
ure may have been tilled up from the original tomb context
through agricultural activity and later picked up from the
ground as a surface find.

This animal figure was probably used as a guardian animal
for a tomb, with which to keep malevolent forces away. With
the limbs now missing, it would have originally sat on its
haunches with its front legs holding up its body. Judging by
the animal’s posture, it most likely represents a lion, the im-
agery of which came from India via China with Buddhist
iconography no later than the fifth century. This is the same
posture found in Chinese depictions of lions, often guarding
tombs, of the same time period.
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