Ring
Unknown Artist
918–1392
Medium
bronze gilt
Dimensions
outer diameter 1.9 cm · inner diameter 1.2 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Korean Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Accession Number
1917.1042
About this artwork
Both everyday objects and ornaments such as this ring were standard burial goods for the period. Furnishing tombs with an elaborate assemblage of objects was believed to honor and comfort the newly dead. Generally, Goryeo tombs were left untouched until the late 19th century. During the colonial period (1910–45), however, Japanese archaeologists aggressively excavated the tombs located in Kaeseong, the former capital of the Goryeo period. It's highly possible this bronze ring came from one of th...