Radiant Remains: Animals as Materials in Ancient Silla

Animals occupy a prominent place in the art of the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE–935 CE) not only as subjects of representation but also as sources of coveted materials. Monumental tumuli in present-day Gyeongju, South Korea, preserve regalia and horse trappings adorned with tens of thousands of beetle wings, harvested from a species native to East Asia. As a natural source of vibrant iridescence, beetle wings enabled Silla artisans to produce dazzling visual effects unattainable with mineral pigments or vegetal dyes. However, the brilliance of beetle ornaments belies the environmental cost and invisible labor that underpin their creation. The embellishment of entire ensembles of personal and equestrian accessories required the systematic gathering of tiny insects from their host plants and the painstaking preparation of their delicate exoskeletons for decorative use.

While existing scholarship has largely framed the use of iridescent beetles as an aesthetic preference for shiny things, this paper situates it within the extractive regime and political infrastructure that shaped the opulent materiality of Silla art. It examines how the production and consumption of beetle ornaments intersected with the consolidation of royal power and the intensified environmental exploitation in a formative era of Silla state-building. The incorporation of insect matter into royal paraphernalia not only dramatized their visual splendor but also conspicuously displayed Silla rulers’ control over natural resources. By tracing the movement of animal products across ecosystems and material networks, this study reorients art historical inquiry toward the environmental conditions and multispecies entanglements that aesthetic forms make visible.