Product Code Database
Gobeunok or Gogok are comma-shaped or curved beads and jewels that appeared from middle age of Mumun Period (850 to 550 BC) through the Three Kingdoms of Korea (57 BC to 668 AD). The Gogok (곡옥; 曲玉) is posited by researchers to have been a symbol of prestige among Mumun culture community leaders as the tombs of presumably powerful figures were oftentimes accompanied by bronze daggers, stone daggers, and comma-shaped jewels. The Gogok's role as a symbol of prestige would carry onto the Three Kingdoms Period of Korea (as Gogok would remain a salient feature of Korean royal paraphernalia (Silla and Baekje). They range in size range from , and are oftentimes fashioned with a hole to be attached or threaded to another object. The origin of these comma-shaped jewels are posited by some to originate from the Pig dragon of the Hongshan culture (4,500 to 3,000 BC) of the Liao River Basin. However, due to the spatial and temporal distance, most researchers have been skeptical of their genealogical relationship. The generally accepted interpretation in academia is that the form of the comma-shaped jewel originated from the canine teeth of predator animals such as the Magatama of Japan from the late Jōmon period (approximately 1,000 BC) or as a symbol of a half-moon sacred to moon worshippers, or as a symbol of fetus and or fertility.
These comma-shaped amazonite ornaments alongside their tubular and circular bead counterparts have been found in other cist tombs as well as Neolithic and Bronze Age dolmens (Usan-ni in Seungju, Pyeonggeo-dong in Yeosu, Weol'am-ni in Muan County, and Daepyeong-ni in Jinju).GJUB Gungnip Jung-ang Bangmulgwan National 1992 They have also been found in Middle Mumun residential remains (Jodong-ni in Chungju and Changpyeong-ni in Ulsan). In addition to the widespread excavation of comma-shaped jewels in Mumun sites across southern Korea, between 1995 and 1999, archeologists excavating the Daepyeong Mumun village have discovered several industrial locations where tubular beads of jasper and comma-shaped amazonite ornaments were manufactured. The artifacts unearthed at these production locations consisted of finished and unfinished ornaments, raw materials, and grinding tools. On the basis of site analysis at Daepyeong-ni, Shinya Shoda and his team of researchers have concluded that the production of these prestige jade goods were carried out by the community through two specialized groups located at two different sections within the community to enhance efficiency: the eastern section would provide raw materials and roughly cut stone silhouettes while the western section would create the finished product.SHODA, Shinya, Oksana Yanshina, Jun-ho Son, and TERAMAE. 2009. New interpretation of the stone replicas in the Russian Maritime Province: re-evaluation from the perspective of Korean archeology. The Review of Korean Studies 12.2: 187–210
The most famous examples of Gogok in Korean art are from the Three Kingdoms period, in the crowns of Silla, earrings, necklaces, and royal girdle of Korea. These treasures were found in the burial mounds and royal mausoleums of Silla, Baekje, and Gaya confederacy. The Fitzwilliam Museum : Catalogue Introduction Archaeological evidence suggests that Those Gogok were produced in specific areas of Japan as Magatama and were widely dispersed throughout the Japanese archipelago to the Southern Koreanic kingdoms via trade routes.
|
|
