King Taejo’s Placenta Outer Jar

This is the placenta jar of King Taejo Yi Seonggye, the founder of Joseon dynasty. Only the outer jar from the entire piece survives today. The grooves around the body of the jar are the traces of strings that would have held the jar. Originally located in Yeongheung, presently in North Korea, King Taejo’s placenta chamber was moved to Jinsan-gun, Chungcheong Province (currently Majeon-ri, Chubu-myeon, Geumsan-gun, South Chungcheong Province) after founding the dynasty in 1393, the 2nd year of King Taejo’s reign.