id: 103724 accession number: 1921.664 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1921.664 updated: Spoon with Fish-Tail Design, 918–1392. Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392). Bronze; overall: 28.5 cm (11 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of John L. Severance 1921.664 title: Spoon with Fish-Tail Design title in original language: 연미형 청동 수저 (魚尾形靑銅匙) series: series in original language: creation date: 918–1392 creation date earliest: 918 creation date latest: 1392 current location: creditline: Gift of John L. Severance copyright: --- culture: Korea, Goryeo period (918-1392) technique: bronze department: Korean Art collection: Korean Art type: Metalwork find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 28.5 cm (11 1/4 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: 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. digital 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. wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003. page number: url: Yun, Seong-jae. “The Special Meanings of Spoons and Chopsticks in the Goryeo Dynasty [고려시대 분묘출토 청동수저].” Yeoksa wa silhak (2015): 51-68. page number: url: https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE06339542 Bronze in Life and Art [삶과 예술 속. 청동 靑銅 이야기] National Cheongju Museum (2016). page number: url: Jeong, Eui-do. Changes of Spoons during the Late Goryeo Period [고려후기 숟가락의 변화].” Hanguk jungse gogohak (2017): 139-157. page number: url: https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE07262104 Goryeo: The Glory of Korea [대고려, 그 찬란한 도전]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2018. page number: url: Horlyck, Charlotte. "The Eternal Link: Grave Goods of the Koryŏ Kingdom (918-1392 CE)." Ars Orientalis, no. 44 (2014): 156-79. page number: url: http://www.jstor.org/stable/43489802 --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.664/1921.664_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.664/1921.664_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.664/1921.664_full.tif