This seventh-century tile attests to the refined and sophisticated culture of the kingdom of Paekche, situated in the southwestern part of the Korean peninsula. None of the resplendent palaces of the Paekche aristocracy mentioned in historical records survives, but the lively decoration of this unglazed tile hints at the opulence of those structures and provides important evidence of early Korean pictorial art. The grimacing creature seems to serve an apotropaic function, analogous to the guardian figures found in Asian art and architecture.