Tile with temple in a landscape

Korea, Three Kingdoms, Baekje, Sabi period (538–660)
Excavated from the temple site at at Oe-ri, Buyeo, South Chungcheong province
Earthenware
H x W x D : 29 .3 x 29 .1 x 4.5 cm
National Museum of Korea, bon 13972
© Buyeo National Museum

This clay tile is decorated with a landscape scene featuring a boulder-filled stream and groups of three-peaked mountains covered in pine trees. A closer examination of the lower central mountain reveals a building with two standing ridge ornaments on its roof. This pictorial evidence suggests the use of roof ridge ornaments in their time. If you look in the lower right-hand corner, you can see a priest walking toward the retreat. This tile also represents an early stage of landscape representation in Korea.