Roof-end Tile with Human Face Motif
The Roof-end Tile with Human Face Motif (Korean: 경주 얼굴무늬 수막새; Hanja: 慶州人面文圓瓦當), nicknamed the Silla smile (신라의 미소), is a Silla-era ornamental roof tile that went on the end of a roof.[1] It was made a Treasure of South Korea No. 2010[2] on November 27, 2018.[1]
The smiling face depicted in the tile is considered iconic, and has become a symbol of Gyeongju.[2]
It is the only known handmade Korean ornamental roof-end tile; all other known roof-end tiles were made with molds.[1]
History
[edit]The tile reportedly came from what is now thought to be the former site of the Silla-era temple Yeongmyosa (at the time of its discovery, it was thought that the site was of another temple Heungnyunsa).[3][4]
The tile first became known in academic circles during the 1910–1945 Japanese colonial period, when a Japanese doctor and collector Tanaka Toshinobu (田中敏信, 1908–1993)[2] purchased it in an antique shop in 1934.[1] The roof tile was featured in a June 1934 research publication written by an Ōsaka Kintarō (大坂金太郞, 1877–1974),[3][1] the director of the Gyeongju branch of the Government-General of Chōsen Museum (now the Gyeongju National Museum). Tanaka then took the tile to Japan some time around 1935 to 1940.[3][2] Ōsaka remained as manager of the museum until the liberation of Korea in 1945, upon which he returned to Japan.[3]
The tile was almost completely forgotten in Korea, and meanwhile Japan and South Korea maintained icy diplomatic relations, with contact between people in both countries limited. In February 1972, Park Il-hun (박일훈; 1913–1975), a former student of Ōsaka and then the director of the Gyeongju National Museum, was invited to visit Japan. He visited his former mentor and inquired as to where the tile was. Park convinced Ōsaka to ask Tanaka to return the tile to Korea; Ōsaka was then 96 and reportedly thought that securing the return could be the final act in his career.[3] Tanaka had already previously returned many objects he had collected from Korea, but had been reluctant to part with this tile; he reportedly had been hanging the piece in his living room.[2] After Park returned to Korea, he heard on March 4 that Tanaka had agreed to donate the tile.[3] Ōsaka and Tanaka visited Korea and returned the piece in a ceremony on October 14, 1972.[3][1]
Legacy
[edit]The logo for the South Korean company LG is based on the tile. In 1998, the tile was made the official symbol for the Gyeongju World Culture Expo.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "The Roof-end Tile with Human Face Motif of Gyeongju - Heritage Search". Cultural Heritage Administration. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ a b c d e 보물 '얼굴무늬 수막새' 사연 깃든 곳. Gyeongju Sinmun (in Korean). 2025-01-09. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g h 이, 기환 (2020-07-27). [이기환의 흔적의 역사] 잃어버릴 뻔했다가 되찾은 1400년전 '신라의 미소'…얼굴무늬 수막새의 조각가가 있다?. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-01-09.
- ^ 도, 재기 (2023-07-05). 이젠 '흥륜사지' 아니라 '영묘사지'? 경주 흥륜사 터 인근서 유물 쏟아져. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-01-09.