Spoon with Fish-Tail Design (918–1392): Art, History and Details

Spoon with Fish-Tail Design (918–1392) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Spoon with Fish-Tail Design
• Date: 918–1392
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: bronze
• Dimensions: Overall: 28.2 cm (11 1/8 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1917.329

A detail from the museum

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.

Collection credit

Director's Contingent Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
• Yun, Seong-jae. “The Special Meanings of Spoons and Chopsticks in the Goryeo Dynasty [고려시대 분묘출토 청동수저].” Yeoksa wa silhak (2015): 51-68.
• Bronze in Life and Art [삶과 예술 속. 청동 靑銅 이야기] National Cheongju Museum (2016).

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.