Koguryo, the strongest country in Korean history, existed from 277 B.C. to 668 A.D. glorifying the dignity and honor of the nation in the long-term struggle against foreign invaders, which made her people have a brave quality, strong character and unyielding will. In particular, they regarded it an honour to devote themselves to defending the country, so they became endowed with a high sense of national pride and stout stamina as well as the ambitious, virile and aggressive way of life. Such qualities peculiar to them were reflected in the culture of Koguryo as they were and it served as the main factor defining the superiority of the development of metal crafts.
The great leader Comrade
"Koguryo was a mighty country with a large territory and a highly developed culture. Its people were very courageous and passionately patriotic. Its great strength and its high cultural standard are of great pride to our nation."
Crafts much depend upon the development of the economy, culture and technology of a given society for its materials and feature of portrayal technique.
The superiority of Koguryo's metal crafts was based on the development of the economy, culture, science and technology.
In Koguryo, progress was made in farming, stock breeding, hunting, handicraft, science and technology at its earliest time and accordingly, various kinds of materials were made in abundance and advanced craft technique was created, which made it possible to manufacture various kinds of metal crafts with gold, silver, bronze and iron properly in an artistic way.
The superiority of Koguryo's metal crafts can also be found in close relations with the contemporary culture, various types of art in particular.
The magnificent palaces, temples, castles and bridges that reflected the life of Koguryo people well, including mural paintings, Anhak Palace, Jongrung Temple, the Walls of Pyongyang City, Taesongsan Fort and Taedonggang Bridge, and their attendant decorative art and sculptures such as Buddhist image and different types of sculptural technique were developed on a world level, which shows high level of Koguryo's art as it was and puts the formative art of handicraft on a higher stage.
The people of Koguryo developed metal crafts and made it well known to the world, because they fully displayed their talent and mettle to create and develop metal crafts suited to their emotion and taste by taking over the metal crafts of ancient Korea along with the developed economy, science and technology and art. The valuable foundation lies in their wisdom and talent to create the beautiful handicrafts with their creative labour.
Koguryo's metal crafts developed in the course of overcoming some religious restriction.
Metal crafts may develop or be restricted according to dominant idea or religion of a given society. The people of Koguryo had a humble materialistic view of "spirit" and believed in native religions such as worshiping gods of "Heaven", "Ancestor" and "Nature", and foreign religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism etc, in addition to the cosmic dual forces and the idea of supernatural being. Among them, Buddhism that had been accepted as state religion since the end of 4th century had a great influence over the country.
The feudal rulers used the formative art to spread the doctrine of Buddhism and its legend and forced craftsmen to manufacture metal crafts as well as sculptures, architecture and pictures within the range of mysterious Buddhist stories and certainly conventional culture of Buddhism. For that reason, some kinds and decorative patterns of Koguryo's handicrafts became tinged with Buddhism.
Buddhism restricted the creativity of craftsmen and hindered the normal and sound development of our nation's traditional handicrafts. However, the wise and talented people of Koguryo produced many items of excellent metal crafts in such religious restriction.
Koguryo's metal crafts had some limitations of the period and class, but was associated with the mass's wisdom and stamina, talent and technique and ardent sense of patriotism.
The main feature, first, can find its expression in the strong reflection of Koreans' natural quality, emotion and hobby.
Koguryo's metal crafts definitely show their brave and sturdy, progressive and optimistic quality, as well as their gentle, pliant and yet active feeling and emotion. They developed the technique of metal crafts by designing and researching into form, decorative pattern and design suited to their nature, feeling and emotion. Such nature and emotion constitute one of Koreans' predominant nature and emotion. It became very solid during the period of long-term struggles against foreign invaders and of creative labour in which they overcame nature, developing the economy and pioneering their life.
Of course, metal crafts produced in Paekje and Silla showed such nature and emotion in various ways, but theirs were not as direct and clear as Koguryo's.
The second feature lies in that its origin goes back to the remote ages, becoming the foundation of the development of the metal crafts of Pakje and Silla and playing the leading role in developing metal crafts at that time. Such thing can be seen in most kinds, types and decorative patterns of the two countries based on Koguryo's metal crafts. It is the result of efforts made by the two countries to introduce the advanced culture of Koguryo as well as her social and political system, science and technology from the 3rd century to 5th century.
The people of Koguryo were generous in disseminating their advanced culture and metal crafts to homogeneous nations, regarding it as natural as the same nation. Paekje and Silla could produce many items of their own metal crafts in the 5th century, particularly after the 6th century, absolutely because they accepted the success of metal crafts from Koguryo.
The third feature is that Koguryo's metal crafts developed in various ways on a world level. Different techniques were applied skillfully, including bored pattern, Chilbo art, gilding and line-carving, and decorative patterns intended by craftsmen were portrayed freely. Plus, tens of form patterns were carved in an artistic way in one kind of metal crafts and various contents ranging from real animals and plants to mysterious ones were depicted in the theme pattern.
The development of Koguryo's metal crafts was based on the primitive technique, but rare metal crafts and gold-gilt and bronze articles were much produced with the development of its technique.
Above all else, the production and processing of rare metals including gold, silver, copper were on a considerably higher level than in other countries.
Historical data show that Koguryo had been rich in gold and silver and developed handicraft and metal craft in many-sided way since its early times. 30 kun of gold was awarded to Bubunno who succeeded in overcoming Sonbi race in 249 B.C., 10 kun of gold was awarded to a sister-in-law who found out the corpse of the prince who had been drowned in the year 18, trade was made by an envoy with 200 kun of gold and 400 kun of silver when he was sent to Huwi, China, in the 430s, and 300 ryang of gold was donated to Japan for making Jangryuk Buddhist image in 605. From these facts, we can know that Koguryo was rich in gold, silver and bronze with the development of excavating and refining techniques, and made many items of daily necessities and luxury wares.
Historical books such as "Samkukji" say that as they used plenty of gold and silver, Koguryo people liked gold and silver works, decorating official hats and making buttons with gold and silver.
They passed down the valuables and handicraft luxuries made of gold and silver to their descendants or buried them with their past family members. They kept the good funeral custom. They treated corpses respectedly and buried them sincerely. According to the custom, the ruling class did not spare gold and silver and other treasures and buried them underground with corpses. True, it is a superstition coming from the desire that the dead would live as luxuriously as before death. Anyway, it was the same case with kings and aristocrats of other nations. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that the tombs of kings and aristocrats were full of such treasures. What is more, there is no doubt that they must have buried valuable decorative things the dead usually wore with corpses in order that the dead should live the rich and luxurious life, because they wanted them to "live a happy life forever" by drawing various kinds of vivid mural paintings. Still remained as rare metal crafts are official hats, golden earrings, rings, jade beads, rod-like hairpins, buttons, and silver rings. In addition to them, historical books show various kinds of gold crowns and decorative things. Characteristic of them is that they are not intricate in form and decoration but simple and formative.
Noticeable among Koguryo's precious metal crafts are official hats and golden rings.
Aristocrats decorated their official hats with flowers made of gold and silver, fastening blue jade on it, and made their clothes look luxurious, putting golden buttons on the embroidered silk clothes.
Two official hats have been found out at the earthen tomb of Koguryo in Jian. It is typical that there is a long decoration in the middle and a bird wing-like feather stretches backward a bit in both sides. The decoration in the middle looks like bird wing hair in the edge with three strings of Boyo hanging. Boyo also hangs from the bird wing-like feather.
It is derived from cowled Jolpung. High ranking classes had two bird feathers or tails on their official hats. Portrayed in the painting on west wall inside the twin-pillared tomb is a man wearing a cowled official hat made of something like silk with two bird feathers on it. The person hunting for animals with his bow in the mural painting of dance wears a cowled official hat with a bunch of bird tail on his hat. At first, actual bird feather was put on official hats, but with the gradual improvement of decoration, bird feather-like decoration made of gold, silver and bronze was put on Jolpung.
As shown, what is peculiar to Kogyryo's official hats is that their middle is Jolpung-like with bird feather-like decoration in both sides, and it is noticeable that the form is almost the same as that of Paekje, Silla and Kaya.
Many golden earrings have been discovered besides official hats. They were used as luxuries by kings and aristocrats to indicate their privileged position, luxurious life and authority.
The earrings vary in kind, form and decoration and are peculiar in formation, smart and sophisticated in manufacturing skill, which was the result of the people's creative wisdom and artistic talent.
Its feature is, first, that a thin, ring-shaped earring is typical.
There are thick and thin earrings sorted out according to the shape of the upper ring. The main form of both earrings is that a thin plate of pure gold is cut for flower basket-like decoration and apricot blossom-shaped drooping decoration is fastened on the bottom.
The earrings left by Koguryo people in Pyongyang area prove that a thin earring was used earlier than a thick one and the former developed into the later because earrings were widely worn and decorative effect grew stronger. Excavation of thin earrings in large quantities shows that aristocrats enjoyed wearing thin earrings more than thick ones.
The feature is, second, that thick and thin rings and long, short and other various forms of middle and drooping decorations are combined properly.
Earrings of Koguryo look noble and beautiful. It is not because the ring and middle and drooping decorations are fine and exquisite but because although simple, they are well shaped, being combined with each other in a changeable and suitable way. The attached decoration of a thick earring can be cited as example. It is flat in the middle and oval and circular in the upper part with the bottom like the cone-shaped weight. Some are moulded into one, others have jujube leaf-like decoration hung in the flower basket-like decoration. Processed in a changeable way are the flower basket-and apricot blossom-like decoration of thin earrings. In other words, several small round rings are linked to form flower basket, four round rings are put on an egg-like body to make it look like a round window, an apricot blossom-like decoration is fixed, and a large ring are put in the middle of the body with small ones in both sides so that as they move, they collide with each other to make a sound. Also, several small rings are put on a large thin earring without the decoration of flower basket, instead, apricot blossom-like decoration being given there.
As mentioned above, the changeable composition of middle and drooping decorations and the combination of a ring with middle and drooping decorations help earrings look plain and lovely in shape.
Gold-gilt bronze crafts and fittings have much portion in quantity among the metal crafts of Koguryo.
The main feature is, first, that they are most clearly associated with the natural quality and artistic technique of Koguryo people, that is, reflecting their high-spirited, stirring stamina, gentle and optimistic disposition and delicate artistic technique.
The feature is, second, that they are put together with beautiful shape that makes people feel rich and composure, beautiful line that looks vibrant, beautiful rhythm that seems flowing, and beautiful colors that looks delicate. In particular, spark and cloud patterns, which are typical of Koguryo, look vibrant and mighty. Energetic spirit and vibrant impact find its way through Koguryo art such as metal decorative patterns.
The feature is, third, that general outline and detailed decoration vividly express the soft, elegant artistic feeling and taste of Koguryo people.
Among bronze or gilt-bronze crafts of Koguryo handed up to now are an handled incense burner(gilt bronze), a candle stick(bronze), shoes(bronze and gilt bronze), Hoe(bronze) and a bracelet(bronze), all of which are comparatively plain in form, simple in decoration, and concise in style.
The handled incense burner in Horyu Temple, Nara Prefecture, Japan, one of the most superior metal crafts of Koguryo, is the oldest of its kind existing in the world.
This is the burner that monks burnt incense at Buddhist ceremonies, about 39.4cm in total length, 10.1cm high and 13.5cm in muzzle diameter. Double flower-like prop is on the bottom with the incense body above it, the front of burner being looked especially large. The front part has 26.3cm-long handle with two large semicircular decoration in the fore part and the end of it forking in three ways. The end bears resemblance to magpie tail, which is the reason why the burner has been called a magpie tail burner since long ago. It is of little decoration but peculiar in shape and very simple in workmanship. The handle end is artistically well-processed so as to be convenient to use the burner.
What is noticeable is that "Heja□□(慧慈□□)"is written in the back side of the handle. Heja was a famous monk in Koguryo who went to Japan in 595 to be a mentor of Crown Prince Shotoku of Japan. He moved the gold-gilt burner from Koguryo to Japan. Since then, it has been kept in Horyu Temple as one of "treasures" of Heir Apparent, who visited it very often in his life.
Bronze or gold-gilt shoe was one of outfittings made in craft technique. The gold-gilt shoe, with a longish clampers on its whole sole, is found in mural paintings of Koguryo tombs. Painted on the west wall of the second room in the 3-room tomb (the end of the 4th century to the beginning of the next century) is a Koguryo warrior in long armoured trousers and with a long sword in his waist, whose shoes clampers are fixed on. What is implied by the painting is that a certain stratum of Koguryo soldiers wore hobnailed, gold-gilt or bronze shoes.
A peculiar feature of Koguryo gold-gilt, bronze crafts can also be seen in bored-pattern decorations.
The development of bored-pattern technique in Koguryo is attributable to the development of various metal-processing techniques and tools like a borer and to the recognition of the people that the bored-pattern technique made it possible to portray more properly stereoscopic, gentle, attractive and plane pattern suitable to their character and taste.
This kinds of decorations are various in shape – sun-like, coronet-like, halo-like, square, rectangular, tower-like and 6~8 floral leaf-like. They are of artistic significance in that they intensively reflect the excellency of Koguryo's exquisite bored-pattern technique and her people's qualities.
A sun-like, bored-pattern, gold-gilt decoration is already well known. It is one of Korea's typical metal-craft decorations in the middle age thanks to its unique shape, vital pattern and originality in decoration of beetle wings.
This decoration shows several aspects of the original craft technique and its superiority of Koguryo people.
First, its pattern gives the sense of cubic effect. Various techniques are possible to make cubic effect but Koguryo craftsmen adopted boring technique. Particularly, in order to make cubic effect better and decoration of surface more effective, they cut a thin groove in both sides of the surface of each pattern's line, even 2 or 3 mm of lines, as well as crow, phoenix and dragon, thus the exterior side of groove being looked lower than its interior side so that all pattern lines look sharp and round. In this way, the sense of decorative plate being flat is removed, making it look patterned with thick and thin round lines of gold and bronze to make cubic effect better. Also, patterns look rhythmic as if continuously moved and stretched up without stop, reflecting Kogyryo people's active, progressive stamina and elegant nature as they were.
Next, decoration of beetle wings, the peculiar decorative way of folk handicraft, was introduced into that of bored pattern.
The beetle wings are laid around the back rim and there are two thin claret-color lines on the middle of chryso-green or deep-green ground. This was conceived by those who made painstaking efforts to make metal crafts of bored pattern more colorful.
The fascinating color of this decoration is indeed harmonious and makes gorgeous decorative effect.
The bored-pattern, gold-gilt coronet discovered in Chongam Earth Castle, Daesong District, Pyongyang, also shows the superiority of handicraft skill of Koguryo.
The rim-like waves is divided into the lower and upper parts—gems carved in the lower, 7 flower blossoms between the lower and upper parts, and honeysuckle portrayed between blossoms. Seen in both sides of the lower part is a drooping decoration like a coat string.
Characteristic here is that in order to make flame more vivid and cubic unlike sun-like bored pattern decoration of gilt bronze, double decorations are done in front and back of two places of nine lines of flame-pattern decoration, making flame itself look blazing up fiercely. And the end of pattern is twisted with small dotted lines in the rim of all patterns, thus looking as if moved.
Inwangsang decoration of bored pattern discovered in Phyongchon District, Pyongyang,(4.5 cm wide/6.3 cm long) shows the peculiar design of Koguryo patterns.
Remarkable in this decoration of bored pattern is that Inwangsang and tree leaves carved above his head are well composed, which shows the pattern design loved by people. The shape of a tree with five big leaves carved above the two Inwangsang heads is quite the same in depiction technique as the design of pine tree-shaped, gilt-bronze decoration depicting a big pine tree with a thin plate of gilt bronze discovered in Chongryu cliff, Pyongyang, and the paintings depicting trees found out in the mural painting of the tomb No.9 of Jinpha-ri, the tomb No 4 and 5 of five tombs in Jian, and in the west wall inside the tomb in Tokhung-ri, Kangso District, Nampho. You can easily guess that the handicraft of Koguryo developed in close relations with pictures and sculptures.
Gilt-bronze, bored-pattern decorations also include six or ten petal-shaped decorations. Their artistic feature is that the design is well-composed, very beautiful and harmonious.
Those mentioned above are colorful in shape and well-composed in bored pattern.
From the view of handicraft technique, metal decoration of Koguryo was made by using different techniques such as forging, casting, metallurgy, engraving, bored, lining, and plating. Noticeable here is that Chilbo craft art was used.
Generally, Chilbo means the things decorated with seven treasures such as gold, silver, lapis, crystal, coral, agate and pearl. However, in the field of metal crafts it is the way of decoration to cover metallic oxide with glaze mixed with watery vitreous solution so that it is made lustrous.
Chilbo handicrafts are rare remains, so rare that a few pieces in the period of the Three Kingdoms have been found out and no remains in ancient times have been discovered yet.
A petal-shaped, Chilbo-decorated gold ball, 4 cm in diameter, was discovered in Kumgang Temple, Daesong District, Pyongyang, which proves that Chilbo-decorative technique was disseminated around the 5th century in Koguryo.
It portrays five petals in and out, and green-colored glass was poured into the part of inside petals to cause special color change and sense of beauty.
The people of Koguryo created the decorative technique of bored pattern by imitating beetle wings and pioneered the most exquisite one of casting crafts by positively introducing Chilbo-decoration technique.
At that time, Koguryo took over the ancient iron-making technique and produced lots of iron for manufacturing various kinds of ironwork, some of which were made in an artistic way by use of craft technique – for instance, sword, helmet, armour, rare utensil, mirror, etc.
There are sword and dagger known so far as ones of Koguryo. The round ring-shaped end of hilt looks excellent, though the sharp lines on the body of sword and the work of hilt decorated with shark leather are good.
Among the rings of long-handled sword of Koguryo are the rings with no decoration and the rings in which three petals are carved. In particular, the fact that the long-handled sword with silver ring and with silver-decorated sheath and handle was produced and exported abroad shows how much the ironwork of Koguryo developed.
The highly-developed iron craft technique in Koguryo can also be shown by defensive weapons like armour, helmet, shield, horse helmet and armour, etc.
Armour is made of lots of iron plates, each of which has a hole to let string run through. That makes it possible to move freely in armour. At that time, high-ranking commanders wore gold-gilt armour.
People of Koguryo put helmet and shoes on horses. Helmet is made of iron sheet suited to its shape and armour is made of iron plate or leader.
The fact that great numbers of servicemen and horses wore armours and helmets presupposed lots of iron plates, which were all manufactured by use of craft technique. It is due to the development of metal processing technique such as moulding, forging and gilt and craft art as well as that of iron and steel-making techniques. Plus, the reason why armament developed and swords, armour and helmet were made properly is that Koguryo people were forced to pioneer their life in the ceaseless struggle against foreign invaders in successive generations.
A model of oven made of iron, which has been discovered in the tomb.1, Ryongho-ri, Unsan County, North Phyongan Province, shows one side of the development of Koguryo's iron crafts. It is similar to the oven in the painting of kitchen at the tomb of King Kogukwon. It has a fireplace in one side, kettle above it and chimney in the other side. Generally, it looks simple yet hard. It is about 70 cm long, rather large enough to be a rare utensil and recognized as an oven to be actually used as a piece of kitchen utensil.
As can be seen above, the development of Koguryo's metal crafts served as one of important factors to contribute to giving full play to Koreans' wisdom and talent and adding glory to the might of Koguryo.
