Korean Silla Earthenware Vase: Flat Roof-End Tile (Amaksae) Motif

Those who choose this work tend to value objects in which an old form is preserved not by imitation alone, but by being given a new role.

What once belonged to the edge of a roof now receives a living stem.

This contemporary Silla-inspired earthenware vase by Kim Heon-gyu takes its form from the amaksae, a traditional Korean roof-end tile associated here with examples excavated in Gyeongju. Rather than reducing the historic reference to a surface motif, the artist retains the broad, gently curved silhouette of the architectural form itself, allowing its original weight and horizontal character to remain immediately recognisable.

The front is treated as the principal visual plane. Its dark earthenware surface carries raised ornamental details across the curved body, recalling the decorative role that roof-end tiles once played at the boundary between architecture and open air. The low, elongated proportion gives the object a grounded presence, while the slight upward curve at either end preserves the sense of a roofline held in tension.

The work was made this way so that its historical reference remains visible even before its function is understood. From the front, it appears almost as an archaeological or architectural fragment set upon a small support. Only on closer viewing does its contemporary purpose become apparent: a concealed opening behind the upper edge allows flowers or slender branches to be placed within it.

This functional intervention changes the meaning of the form without disturbing it. The vessel does not simply borrow the appearance of an amaksae; it allows an architectural object associated with shelter and structure to enter domestic life in another way. Flowers rise from behind the dark ceramic curve, introducing softness, seasonality and movement to a form that otherwise feels dense and enduring.

The contrast is particularly effective. The earthenware remains visually close to earth, architecture and fired clay, while the flowers are temporary and alive. One element is made to endure; the other is expected to change. Their meeting gives the work its quiet tension.

Kim Heon-gyu’s interpretation is therefore contemporary not because it abandons the traditional form, but because it changes the way that form is encountered. The amaksae is no longer positioned high above the viewer as part of a building. It is brought down to eye level, where its curvature, relief and material presence can be examined at close range.

As a vase, the work remains deliberately restrained. Its purpose does not overwhelm its historical character. Instead, the flowers appear almost to emerge from behind the roofline itself, turning an architectural memory into a small, living landscape.

Dimensions:

Length - 23cm

Height - 7cm 

Depth - 2cm

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•  About Silla

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