Stone Panel for Royal Tomb

This panel shows a figure with a human body and the features of a rat, which is one of the signs of the Asian zodiac, and is likely one of 12 granite panels from a royal tomb. It is probably from Gyeongju—the capital of the kingdoms of the Silla (57 BCE–668) and Unified Silla (688–935) periods—where large royal tomb mounds can still be found. This panel resembles those showing the animal signs of the Korean zodiac from the tomb of General Kim Yusin (595–673) in Gyeongju, the most famous tomb of the period.