Stone Basin in Banjuk-dong, Gongju

Like the Stone Basin in Jung-dong, Gongju (Treasure), this is a Baekje-period relic that stood at the site of Daetongsa Temple, and appears to have been used mainly to hold lotus flowers for decoration. It was moved to the Gongju National Museum in 1940, where it has been preserved since. It differs from the Stone Basin in Jung-dong, Gongju only in size, being almost identical in style and carving technique, which suggests that the two basins were made at the same time to be placed as a pair in front of a single building. The basin is shaped like an enlarged bowl on a tall foot, and apart from its square base stone is almost entirely rounded in structure. A cylindrical support pillar stands on the base stone, and on top of it rests the large, round basin, which was made by hollowing out the inside of a block of granite. The support pillar is carved in relief with a twelve-petalled lotus design in the typical Baekje manner, a pattern that also matches roof-tile designs excavated in the Gongju region. The basin set above it has a broad, foot-like band running around the rim of its opening and two further bands around its middle, decorated all round with raised flowers of eight lotus petals each. Unlike the rectangular stone basins of the Unified Silla period, this basin, resting on a support pillar decorated with lotus petals, also has full lotus leaves and elegant bands running around its outer surface, giving it a refined, aristocratic feel. Much of the decorative pattern has now worn away through exposure to wind and rain.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gongju, Chungnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물