Silla Kingdom. Finely potted, supported on a tall spreading foot with two bands of square apertures supporting the shallow rounded sides surmounted by a domed cover incised with a circular herringbone pattern around the knop finial.

Provenance: From a German private estate, acquired in the local trade.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, firing flaws, signs of weathering and erosion, small chips, and soil encrustations likely from prolonged period of burial. Presenting exceptionally well.

Weight: 457.7 g
Dimensions: Height 15.2 cm

This type of covered dish was used in daily life as well as in mortuary rituals and is typical of ceramic ware produced in the kingdom of Silla and the Gaya Federation (42 BC-562 AD). These vessels are still being excavated in large amounts from tomb sites along the Nakdong River, in southeast Korea, the area of the former territories of Silla and Gaya. The excavations of Anjap-ji, a pond within a 7th century palace compound, revealed much about the daily life and material goods of the Korean aristocracy during the Silla dynasty. High-fired stoneware in elegant, wheel-turned shapes, like this one, were commonly used as tableware.

One of the first states to unify and govern a large portion of the Korean peninsula, the Silla often buried their dead with an assortment of objects they would need in the next life. This mounted dish and cover with its reticulated base is a distinctly Silla form and probably reflects popular eating vessels of the period.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related ceramic pedestal dish and cover with a similar finial on the cover, 21.2 cm high, dated 5-6^th century, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 73.46.9A,B. Compare a related ceramic pedestal dish and cover with a similar pedestal foot and incised herringbone decorations, 24.1 cm high, dated 5^th-6^th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1997.34.9a, b.