Minneapolis Institute of Art

Tree-shaped Fragment of a Royal Crown

Korea

Date

7th-8th century

Medium

Gilt bronze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Since the early years of Buddhism in South Asia, Buddhists have enshrined funerary relics in stupas, or burial mounds. As Buddhism spread to Northeast Asia in subsequent centuries, thousands of stupas—often tower-like and dubbed “pagodas’” in the West—were constructed, each embedded with bone fragments or other relics (sarira) housed within a multi-layered reliquary. Many of these sacred burials included precious stones and jewels as well as other sacred objects alongside the primary reliquary holder. This tree-shaped decoration, once attached to the band of a royal crown, is believed to have been buried alongside a pavilion-shaped reliquary (2019.21). Korea

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.