The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Spoon with Fish-Tail Design

Spoon with Fish-Tail Design

918–1392
Overall: 27.5 cm (10 13/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Bronze spoons are the most common burial item. Scholars have proposed that toward the end of the 14th century, Koreans enjoyed meat-based soups more than any other dishes, explaining why spoons became common household items as well as burial goods.

Description

Many of Goryeo period spoons like this one feature a curved handle that splits into a jagged fishtail design. This fishtail design is not unique to Korea; it was also widely used in the area under the rule of two non-Han Chinese states: Liao (907–1125) and Jin (1115–1234). These seemingly ordinary objects testify to exciting material interactions between the Goryeo dynasty and non-Han Chinese northern states, which were often omitted from the official records.
  • acquired by Langdon Warner in Korea.
  • Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
    Horlyck, Charlotte. "The Eternal Link: Grave Goods of the Koryŏ Kingdom (918-1392 CE)." Ars Orientalis, no. 44 (2014): 156-79. www.jstor.org
    Yun, Seong-jae. “The Special Meanings of Spoons and Chopsticks in the Goryeo Dynasty [고려시대 분묘출토 청동수저].” Yeoksa wa silhak (2015): 51-68. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Bronze in Life and Art [삶과 예술 속. 청동 靑銅 이야기] National Cheongju Museum (2016).
    Jeong, Eui-do. Changes of Spoons during the Late Goryeo Period [고려후기 숟가락의 변화].” Hanguk jungse gogohak (2017): 139-157. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Goryeo: The Glory of Korea [대고려, 그 찬란한 도전]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2018.
    Ahn, Kuisook. "The Significance of the Bronze Spoons in the Cleveland Museum of Art." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 274-289. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 286-287, fig. 17
  • {{cite web|title=Spoon with Fish-Tail Design|url=false|author=|year=918–1392|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1918.510