Long-necked Jar with Figurines

This long-necked jar is the most representative Silla pottery piece with figurine attachments. Three of the figurines, representing a duck and a snake biting into the back legs of a frog, were placed around the neck and shoulder of the jar at equal distance from one another. The other figurines, providing extra decoration, include a man with an exaggerated penis, a musician playing the Sillageum(Korean zither with six string), a couple making love, as well as a fish , bird , and tortoise. Ornamental figurines such as these represented people’s hopes for fertility and prosperity. Thus, they are indispensable materials that yield tremendous insight into the Silla people’s spiritual world and way of life in harmony with nature.