Northeast Asian History Network

Eastern Wall of the Eastern Gallery – Procession - Royal Attendants 3

This is a detailed view of the Royal Attendants depicted on the eastern gallery wall in Anak Tomb No. 3. This is the bottom line of Royal Attendants of the three depicted on the eastern gallery wall. Six mounted officials can be seen along with a military attaché leading the line on foot. Of the six figures, the first and fourth officials are military attachés and the remaining four are civil servants judging by their Chaeks (headwear) that split in the back and curve forward. Notably, only the military attachés are carrying banners. And for reasons unknown, their flags are being carried upside down. The military attachés are all wearing robe-like Durumagis (traditional Korean overcoat), and the civil servants are wearing white Durumagis featuring green Seons (accents on garments mimicking the black feathers on a crane's neck or wingtips, influenced by Siberian shamanism). The Seons on the military attachés' Durumagis are of a different color.
The officials are riding white Baektoma (white stallion) and red Jeoktoma (red stallion) in alternating order. The artist's effort to avoid monotony by using subtle color changes is evident, because the same types of figures appear repeatedly. The artist's attention to detail is well-represented in this image. The horses mainly used in Koguryo at the time weren't the large, long-legged Ferghana horses (literally "sweats blood horse") from the mountains of Central Asia but a type of short-legged pony found in the grasslands of Mongolia. Although these horses probably couldn't run as fast as the long-legged Ferghana horses from the mountains of Central Asia, they likely played key roles in battles that took place in the mountainous regions of Koguryo. The horses' manes are tied up with red straps.