Roof Tile-End with Lotus Design
Korean
Description
March 28, 2009
Two types of tiles were used in the construction of traditional ceramic roof structures in Korea. One type, called ammaksae, was flat with a slight curve in the cross-section. It was placed concave side up, directly on top of the roof supports. The other type, called sumaksae, was semicylindrical and placed convex side up to cover the joined edges of the flat ammaksae tiles. When completely in place on a roof, ammaksae tiles alternated with rows of sumaksae. Rain rolled off the curved spine of the sumaksae rows and ran down the gutters formed by the ammaksae tiles. The terminal ends of both the ammaksae and sumaksae rows were capped by tile-ends, which were usually decorated and visible on the edge of the eaves. A crescent-shaped tile-end capped the ammaksae row, while a round tile-end capped the end-tile on a sumaksae row.
The Buddhist lotus, readily adapted into a medallion shape, became the favored motif for decorating sumaksae end-tiles after Korea’s adoption of Buddhism in the fourth century. At first the lotus medallion was simple: the seedpod contained few seeds, the petals were few, and their forms were wide and fleshy. Toward the end of the Three Kingdoms period, the lotus design became more complex and linear and the petals more narrow and flat. In the Unified Silla period that followed, other floral medallions were introduced. The lotus often appeared in combination with a bosanghwa (precious visage) motif, a stylized floral pattern that symbolized the sanctity of Buddhism. The bosanghwa motif on these tiles appears as a stylized heart shape outside the central lotus and could easily be mistaken for a yeoui (scepter-head) pattern, another Buddhist-derived motif. Thousands of these Unified Silla circular tile-ends have been unearthed at the Pond of Geese and Ducks (Anapji), a man-made water feature that was part of a large-scale pleasure resort in Gyeongju, the Silla capital.
(Label for UMMA Korean Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)
Subject Matter:
Lotus with thirteen petals.
Roofs and ceilings are important focal points of many traditional East Asian structures. Roofs often extend several feet beyond the walls of the structure, creating large, overhanging eaves. These two tiles would have been part of the decorated outer edge of such an eave.
Ceramic roof tiles were introduced to Korea from China around the first century BCE By the time these two examples were made, during the Silla kingdom (57 BCE–668 CE) and Unified Silla dynasty (668–935), Korean ceramic tile roofs had reached their peak in intricacy and design. Roofs made from interlocking ceramic tiles kept cold air, wind, and rain from entering a house. Due to their heavy weight, the structure supporting the roof had to be very strong. Expensive to produce, tile roofs were typically found on the homes of aristocrats and government officials, and on Buddhist and Confucian ceremonial buildings.
Physical Description:
Earthenware roof tile-end with molded lotus design.
This gray, high-fired earthenware convex eave-end roof tile features a slender thirteenpetal lotus design. It is made from coarse clay mixed with small stone particles. The circular ovary and lotus seeds are depicted in shallow relief, while the lotus petals are slender and lack volume.
[Korean Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2017) p.36]
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