Our exploration of the various collections housed in Korean furniture museums has enabled us to identify furniture with distinctive designs. Feature image: Described as a clothing chest. Period Japanese occupation, early 20th century.H. 121,5cm, W. 88cm, D. 39cm.Also called a Jeongju wardrobe, this chest is from Jeongju city, capital of North Jeolla province DOCUMENT & […]
This small piece of furniture is rarely described in publications, both in Korea and abroad. It is quite special, and we thought it would be interesting to present it. Hardly ever found in specialized galleries or at auctions, our observations are based on photographic documents from private collections or museums in Korea. Often finely executed, […]
THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM. 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, Canada. Research & Catalog Publication: The Korean Collection at the Royal Ontario Museum 12 Building the Royal Ontario Museum’s Korean Collection 16 PLATES Archeology 25 Glazed Ceramics 61 Painting & Calligraphy 101 Craft & Sculpture 215 Costume 241 Others 277 Palanquin Chair (Choheon) 초헌의자. Joseon, Late 18th […]
In this chapter, we study furniture in depth in order to better estimate their precise origin and carry out accurate dating. “SUNG SUN I” BANDAJI. This piece of furniture, bought in China in the mid-90s, probably came from North Korea. In the late ’80s, many pieces circulated between North Korea and China via the northern […]
Hwanghae Do province was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Haeju. The regional name for the province was Haeseo. In 1395, the province was organized as Punghae (풍해도; 豐海道; Punghae-do). In 1417, it was renamed Hwanghae. The name derived from the names of the two principal cities of Hwangju (황주; 黃州) and Haeju (해주; 海州). In 1945, Korea was divided into Soviet and American zones […]
“Nobody knows quite when the candlestick or lantern first appeared on the Korean Peninsula, but the archaeological record provides fascinating insight. The earliest-known candlestick found in digs dates back to the end of the Unified Silla (668-935) period. But a magnificent, 25.5 centimeter pair of what at first glance seems to be a pair of […]
There are numerous auction houses in Korea; however, it’s challenging to monitor them online. Consequently, we only focus on tracking the primary auction houses located in Seoul. I AUCTION. Haksan building, 50 Samil Daero 30-gil, Jongno Gu. Seoul. LINK: I AUCTION K AUCTION. 23 Eonju-ro 172-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea. SEOUL AUCTION. Jong-Ro No. 01-2173 […]
Mother-of-pearl, also known as nacre, is an inorganic composite material produced by certain mollusks as an inner shell layer, and accumulated in other shells, such as freshwater pearl mussels, in the form of pearls. It is very strong, resilient, and iridescent. It can be found in strains of mollusks in the class of “Bivalvia“, such as […]
Apothecaries, also known as medicine chests, featuring numerous pullout drawers, were utilized during the Middle Ages in both Europe and the Far East by predecessors of our modern pharmacists. The exact origins of medicine usage in Korea remain unknown; nevertheless, since ancient times, there was a necessity to classify and store the materials required for […]
This type of furniture is commonly found in Pyongyang, the current capital city of North Korea. Pyongyang has been a center of economic and cultural influence since the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). The climate in the area is characterized by very cold winters and hot, dry summers. They are quite easy to recognize due to their […]