KOREAN COLLECTIONS IN CANADA.

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 […]

A BIT OF HISTORY. THE JOSEON DYNASTY.

AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE JOSEON DYNASTY. Joseon 조선 in Korean, 朝鮮 in Hanja, or Chosŏn, officially Great Joseon State (대조선국; 大朝鮮國, was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom was founded following the aftermath of the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. […]

ILLUSTRATED VOCABULARY OF TRADITIONAL KOREAN FURNITURE

JOSEON – 조선 : Last Korean dynasty ( 1392 to 1910 ). Also referred as Yi or Choson Dynasty. THE KOREAN HOUSE HANOK – 한옥 : Korean traditional house. Hanok were first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon dynasty. ANCHAE – 안채 : is a section of a Korean traditional house that is reserved […]

CASE STUDIES.

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 BANDAJI – 황해도 반닫이

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 […]

LIGHTING DURING THE JOSEON DYNASTY

“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 […]

KOREAN BANDAJI – 반닫이

The Bandaji, known as a blanket chest in the West, is likely the most prevalent type of Korean clothing chest from the Joseon Dynasty. Its front is divided into two parts, with the upper half designed to open and close. The name “Bandaji“ is derived from the Korean words “Ban,” meaning “half,” and “Daji,” meaning […]

AUCTIONS IN KOREA.

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. NOVEMBER 2022 DECEMBER 2022 JANUARY […]

KOREAN MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAY LACQUER WARE.

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 […]

KOREAN FURNITURE EXHIBITIONS.

TRADITION & INSIGHT EXHIBITION. JJ ART. 16 Insa-dong 9-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Baekak Museum of Art, 1st floor. May 23, to June 23, 2017. NATIONAL FOLK MUSEUM OF KOREA. Najeon, Glimmer & Shine. May 19, 2023 ~ August 27, 2023. Najeon is a decorative technique that involves using mother-of-pearl from the shells of abalones, conchs, and […]