Gilt-bronze Padlocks

This set of gilt-bronze padlock fittings is an excavated group of Unified Silla-period objects comprising one gilt-bronze door bolt, one gilt-bronze door ring, and two gilt-bronze nails. The bolt is 26 cm long, the door ring 10.5 cm long, and the nails 4.9 cm long. The gilt-bronze bolt is well preserved, with much of its gilding still intact. Finds of a gilt-bronze bolt and door ring together like this are extremely rare, making this a valuable piece of evidence that newly reveals a form of Unified Silla door fitting previously known only from door decorations carved on pagodas and stupas. The bolt is made so that it can be separated and rejoined at its left-hand section, and its keyhole is likewise pierced on the left side. The door ring is circular, and its mounting plate is round as well. Each nail consists of a looped head and a short neck below which tapers to a point. The pattern decorating the face of the door ring is extremely graceful and delicate, showing the outstanding craftsmanship of Unified Silla. Judging from the bolt's elongated shape, its simple decoration, and its hairpin-shaped ornament with a slightly curved-back end, it is thought to have been made around the middle of the Unified Silla period. As the only surviving physical example of a Unified Silla gilt-bronze door bolt, it is presumed to have been used on a shrine hall or similar building.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물