The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 25, 2023

Topknot Pin

청동 동곳 (靑銅串)

918–1392

Korea, Goryeo period

(918-1392)

Bronze

Overall: 5.5 cm (2 3/16 in.)

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1917.1028

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

This bronze hairpin was for a man to fix his topknot.

Description

Metallurgy advanced remarkably in the Goryeo period (918-1392), explaining why a large quantity of sophisticated metal artifacts were used not only as daily accessories but also as burial goods. Men put their hair in a knot at the top of their heads. To keep their long hair from falling, a bronze pin such as this one was used.

Citations
Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
The spirit of Goryeo in metalcrafts [금속공예에깃든고려인의삶]. Seoul: Jeju National Museum and National Cheongju Museum, 2011.
Kim, Moon-ja. "A Study on the Ornaments in Goryeo Dynasty [고려 시대 장신구에 대한 연구]." Journal of Korean Traditional Costume 15, vol. 3 (December 2012): 5-21. www.dbpia.co.kr
Horlyck Charlotte. "The Eternal Link: Grave Goods of the Koryŏ Kingdom (918-1392 CE)." Ars Orientalis, no. 44 (2014): 156-79. www.jstor.org
Bronze in Life and Art [삶과 예술 속. 청동 靑銅 이야기] National Cheongju Museum (2016).
Goryeo: The Glory of Korea [대고려, 그 찬란한 도전]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2018.
Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1917.1028