Plate

Used to hold fruit offerings for ancestor worship. Brass serving and eating utensils are commonly used by wealthy Koreans. Bowls of this type are used in making offerings to ancestors, in which dishes with various foods are set out in front of the cabinet containing the ancestral tablet. Such a ceremony is held at New Year's, at the 1st and 2nd anniversaries of a death, and on the 15th day of the 1st and 8th months. Ancestral worship derives from the influence of Confucianism, which was introduced to Korea before the 3rd century.

offering container

Round, flat, brass plate with flat base and straight flared sides 2.4 cm high. Two concentric circles indented near centre of inner surface. Outer surface shiny; inner surface has dull patina; turning marks are visible.