Roof-end Tile with Human Face

This roof-end tile is vividly decorated by a face with round cheeks, a prominent nose, slightly protruding eyes, and a plump mouth curled up in an innocent smile. The face was likely meant to repel evil spirits. The tile was reportedly first excavated from Yeongmyosa Temple Site during the Japanese Colonial Period, and it was kept for many years by a Japanese man named Danaka Toshinobu until he donated it to the Gyeongju National Museum in October 1972. The wide rims along the edges, the high-temperature firing technique, and the full volume of the face have led experts to estimate that it originated during the Three Kingdoms Period.