Inscribed Bowls with Lid

The bottom of this bronze bowl, excavated from tomb No.14 in Gyerimno, Gyeongju, features the Chinese character for condolence (吊) or its simplified form (帝). The character is thought to represent the grief felt for the death of a loved one. Another bronze bowl excavated from King Michu’s tomb in Hwangoh-dong features two characters in official script that stand for “grand fortune” (大富). These characters were used before tombstone inscription became more widespread in Silla, and as such are important materials for studying how the characters change over time.