Gilt-bronze Roof Tile in the Shape of a Dragon-head

A tosu is a dragon-head-shaped roof tile fitted onto the end of a hip rafter or diagonal rafter to protect it from damage by wind and rain. This tosu, 30.5 cm high and 35.2 cm long, has its neck cut into a square shape and hollowed out so that a wooden beam could be inserted, with two nail holes drilled on each side to fix the wood in place. The whole surface was originally gilded, but most of the gilding has now come away. The dragon has large, wide-open eyes, with blunt upper teeth protruding above the lower lip. The nose is rendered short, and the slightly bulging pupils are carved in two tiers to give a sense of vitality. The eyebrows, raised above the eyes, form an angle and taper to a sharp point at the rear as if fluttering. The horn rising high from the crown of the head extends far back before curling forward at the tip into a rounded, bracken-frond shape. Compared with the gilt-bronze dragon head from Anapji Pond or the gilt-bronze dragon-head bodang, a Buddhist ceremonial banner-pole finial, excavated at Yeongju in Gyeongsangbuk-do, this gilt-bronze roof tile in the shape of a dragon head feels less realistic and less dynamic. Because its detailed decoration is simplified and its nose is short and blunt, giving an impression closer to a turtle's head than a dragon's, it is thought to have been made in the Unified Silla period or the early Goryeo period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물